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Natasha Wodak’s announcement
Canada’s Natasha Wodak will race the Hamburg Marathon in a last-chance attempt to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The 42-year-old national record holder (2:23:12) is a two-time Olympian. In Tokyo in 2021, she finished in a strong 13th place, in the heat. She finished 22nd in the Rio Olympic 10,000m event.
Wodak wrote on Instagram, “Excited to go after that Olympic standard one more dang time on April 28th at the Hamburg Marathon.
I watched the USA Olympic marathon trials this past weekend. Three amazing women made the team — but so many more had off days and heartbreaking results. That was their only chance. One day to get it right. It made me realize how lucky I am to have an 18-month window to qualify. So I’m going into this marathon thinking I am so grateful I have another opportunity to go for standard instead of “ugh I have to race another marathon again.”
While Wodak holds the current Canadian marathon record, the North Vancouver resident is the former Canadian half-marathon record holder at 69:41 and was the first Canadian under 70 minutes. She also formerly held the Canadian 10,000m record of 31:41.59 and is the current holder of the 8K national best with her 2013 performance of 25:28.
Athletics Canada names two in media release
Meanwhile, Athletics Canada has named two other marathon runners to Team Canada to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Malindi Elmore of Kelowna, BC and Cameron Levins from Black Creek, BC, now living in Portland, OR.
Levins holds the Canadian and North American marathon record at 2:05:36 from the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Elmore is the former Canadian record holder. Both are two-time Olympians.
TWO MARATHONERS EARN — EARLY NOMINATION TO CANADA’S PARIS 2024 TEAM
Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced that two marathoners – two-time Olympians Malindi Elmore (Kelowna, B.C.) and Cameron Levins (Black Creek, B.C.) – have received early nomination to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I never expected, even as recently as five years ago, that I’d make two more Olympics. My life had moved on, I had moved on from running, as well. To become a three-time Olympian sounds kind of legit now,” Elmore said. “I’ve learned so much over the last 20 years about training and racing and the work that goes into it, that I feel really quite grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to become the athlete that I hoped I could have been and wanted to be. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity.”
“Anytime I get to put on a Canadian singlet and compete at the Olympics or the World Championships is always really exciting. I live for being able to compete on these big stages and face the very best in the world, and the Olympics is the peak of that,” Levins said. “This one is really special for me, after getting all the experience of these previous Olympics. My wife hasn’t seen me compete live in any of my Olympics yet, and that’s pretty special for her to be able to do that in Paris.”
