Andrea Seccafien breaks Canadian half-marathon record in Japan
Distance runner met Olympic qualifying standard in 5,000 metres at 2019 worlds
Andrea Seccafien said running a personal-best time twice in three days in the 5,000 metres at the track and field world championships last October confirmed she was on the right track for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Breaking Natasha Wodak's Canadian women's record in the half marathon on Sunday in Japan probably confirmed her fitness level is where it needs to be six months from the Summer Games.
Seccafien finished 17th at the
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Well that was fun while it lasted! Less than 2 weeks being the Canadian record holder in the half marathon & I’m ok with it! HUGE congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/aseccafien?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aseccafien</a> on her 69:38 in Japan today! It’s so exciting how fast Canadian women are running!
—@tasha_wodakThe time was well below the 15:10 qualifying standard for Tokyo and improved the Guelph, Ont.-raised runner's world ranking to 27th.
Canadian athletes can qualify either by achieving the standard in their event or occupying a spot in the top 40 on the world ranking list. Points are accumulated based on a runner's top five efforts determined by a combination of the time ran, calibre of meet and placing within the race.
Seccafien recovered from a foot injury in 2015 to meet the 2016 Olympic standard and was the top Canadian in her Summer Games debut, placing 20th in Rio.
The former University of Toronto Track Club member r