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Thomas Broatch and Caroline Pomerleau won the 2023 Canadian Marathon Championships that ran in conjunction with the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday.

They were the first Canadians to cross the finish line.

The men

Broatch ended up eighth overall in the time of 2:16:25 in his debut at the distance. The 25-year-old Vancouver native is a software engineer and a graduate of the University of British Columbia. Going into the race, he carried a 1:04:09 half-marathon personal best from Nov. 2022.

Sunday, he smartly ran the first half in the time of 1:07:37. All seven runners in front of him had a more aggressive start and a larger positive split. Benjamin Raymond of Laval, QC took the second Canadian position in the time of 2:20:15. Sergio Villanueva in 2:20:47 of Mississauga, ON placed third Canadian. The two finished eighth and ninth, respectively.

The overall winner was Kenyan Elvis Kipchoge Cheboi clocking a new personal best of 2:09:18. His previous best was set in April this year in Wien, Austria where the 28-year-old clocked a 2:10:21 finish. Ethiopian Adugna Takele Bikila took second in 2:10:25, while Kenyan Alfred Kipchirchir Mukche followed in third place credited with a 2:10:54 finish time.

The Women

Twenty-eight-year-old Pomerleau also became a champion in her debut marathon run. In January, she ran the Houston Half Marathon and set her best for the distance at 1:13:51. Sunday, she ran 1:17:28 through the first half and had a small negative split. Like Broatch, she ran a smart race for a rookie. She finished 10th in the international field.

Anne Marie Comeau was the second Canadian clocking a 2:34:50. She is from Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, QC. Vancouver, BC’s Dayna Pidhoresky finished next in 2:35:50.

Pomerleau locked into a pace around 3:40 per kilometre and stayed with it and was surprised to find herself passing the leader Comeau near the finish.

Ethiopia buzzed the podium, as the top three all Haile from the East African country. Buze Diriba won the women’s event in 2:23:11. The second female finisher was Waganesh Mekasha in 2:23:11 and third was Afera Godfay 2:23:14. For Diriba it was a five minute personal best, for the latter two, they finished one minute off their own best performances.

Results>>

*Featured image Broatch winning, credit: TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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