Canada91裸聊视频檚 Cam Levins never lost his self-belief.

And after nearly four frustrating years of disappointing finishes, dropouts, and the loss of his sponsor, Levins wrote a remarkable comeback story on Sunday, shattering his own Canadian record, racing to an historic fourth place in the marathon at the world track and field championships.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 thrilled, obviously. I91裸聊视频檓 over the moon,91裸聊视频� Levins said.

The 33-year-old from Black Creek, B.C., ran two hours seven minutes nine seconds to crush the 2:09.25 he ran in Toronto in 2018. The previous top Canadian finish was 10th by Peter Maher in 1993.

Tairat Tola of Ethiopia pulled away over the final kilometres to win gold in 2:05.36. Teammate Mosinet Geremew won the silver in 2:06.44, while Bashir Abdi of Belgium took bronze in 2:06.48.

Back in 2018, in his marathon debut, Levins achieved what had eluded Canadian marathoners for decades, breaking Jerome Drayton record that had stood for 43 years.

The future looked bright.

But he failed at three attempts to run the Tokyo Olympic qualifying standard before hitting it with a week to spare. At the Olympics, he faded to 72nd place in sizzling 34 C temperatures in Sapporo.

Levins wasn91裸聊视频檛 re-signed for 2022 by HOKA, the team he91裸聊视频檇 been with since 2018. He has no sponsor.

He posted on social media that he91裸聊视频檚 seeking redemption in Eugene. And did he ever deliver.

91裸聊视频淚t was crazy going from one of the last-place finishers at the Olympics, to one of the top finishers at the world championships,91裸聊视频� Levins said. 91裸聊视频淚 took so much away from the Olympics last year, I just realized I need to be better, in just like every aspect of my training.

91裸聊视频淚 really had an incredible buildup, like the last six months, I91裸聊视频檝e trained really well, the hardest I have in every conceivable way,91裸聊视频� added Levins, who won the Canadian half-marathon championships recently in Winnipeg. 91裸聊视频淲hen I got to the start line, I knew I was ready.91裸聊视频�

But the marathon is difficult to predict. Anything can happen over the last 10 kilometres, no matter how well-prepared athletes are, Levins pointed out.

91裸聊视频淚 felt great throughout the race. But even despite that, it91裸聊视频檚 still really hard on your legs, hard to keep going like that,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 was feeling great, but it was still a difficult last 10K. When I was coming into the last lap, I was telling myself 91裸聊视频業91裸聊视频檓 here to medal, I91裸聊视频檓 gonna do this.91裸聊视频� I was definitely telling myself that I was here for a big performance.

91裸聊视频淚 think that91裸聊视频檚 part of the big result is always believing that was going to happen, besides just preparing for it.91裸聊视频�

Levins hung in amid a large group at the front on the fast and flat course that featured plenty of scenic views. The 30-year-old Tola broke free over the final couple of kilometres.

91裸聊视频淚 tried to prepare myself for a long time for this,91裸聊视频� Tola said through an interpreter. 91裸聊视频淚t was my dream.91裸聊视频�

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The real race was for silver, with the 33-year-old Abdi pushing Geremew all the way to the finish before running out of steam.

Fans lined the course several people deep, a welcome sight after so many marathons over the past two years were contested in bubbles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian friends and family members weren91裸聊视频檛 permitted to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics

On Sunday, Levins had his parents Barb and Gus, his wife Elizabeth, and his in-laws there.

91裸聊视频淭here were tons and tons of people in the crowd itself. I heard my name a zillion times. It was super cool. The Oregon crowd here was so, so great,91裸聊视频� he said. (My family was) jumping back and forth on the course, I saw them quite a bit. Mostly I heard my parents, rather than saw them, I recognized my mom91裸聊视频檚 voice pretty good a couple of times.91裸聊视频�

Levins hadn91裸聊视频檛 had the chance to find his family in the crowd just minutes after his finish. But his thoughts were already about how thankful he was that they91裸聊视频檝e had his back.

91裸聊视频淚t can be hard for your family, someone like my wife, to keep supporting me even when I lost my contract and funding in general, so it91裸聊视频檚 been really amazing,91裸聊视频� Levins said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been a tough last year. It91裸聊视频檚 also been a really rewarding last year as far as training goes. I couldn91裸聊视频檛 be more thankful for them.91裸聊视频�

Levins, who lives a couple of hours north of Eugene in Portland, is coached by Victoria91裸聊视频檚 Jim Finlayson.

The runners were able to push the pace with the temperature hovering at a comfortable 13.9 Celsius with cloud cover. That91裸聊视频檚 quite a contrast to the conditions at worlds in Doha when the men91裸聊视频檚 marathon was held at midnight to avoid the searing heat. The temperature was still around 29 Celsius.

Levins moved up to the marathon after a decorated track career. He won bronze in the 10,000 in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and raced to 11th place in the 10,000 and 14th in the 5,000 at the 2014 London Olympics, despite catching the flu before the finals.

Rory Linkletter of Calgary was 20th on Sunday in a personal best 2:10.24, while Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont., was 28th in 2:11.47.

91裸聊视频淎ll three of our Canadians I think ran really, really well today,91裸聊视频� Levins said. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e just in kind of an amazing era of marathoning, and I91裸聊视频檓 happy to have my name up there with some of the best ones.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 going to, I hope I have a long career still ahead of me, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.91裸聊视频�

After a slight delay, 1972 Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter signalled the start of the race that sent the runners along a three-loop course that finished in front of the University of Oregon91裸聊视频檚 Autzen Stadium. The route wound through the cities of Eugene and Springfield.

The course crossed over the Willamette River and ventured alongside Pre91裸聊视频檚 Trail, the bark running trail that91裸聊视频檚 named in honor of University of Oregon running icon Steve Prefontaine, who died in a car accident in 1975.

The field was missing Kengo Suzuki after the Japanese team had a few cases of positive tests for COVID-19. Also not racing was Kenyan marathoner Lawrence Cherono, who was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after testing positive for a banned substance used to treat chest pain resulting from lack of blood supply and oxygen to the heart.

91裸聊视频� By Lori Ewing in Toronto. With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press

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