Tristan Woodfine moves past Olympic snub, eyes Canadian marathon record in London
'Workouts have been great and the overall confidence is high,' says former triathlete
Tristan Woodfine believes a marathoner could have success running with a chip on their shoulder but hasn't given it much thought, despite his frustration leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.
In early June, Woodfine wasn't among the three men's marathoners selected to the Canadian team. While Trevor Hofbauer, Cam Levins and Ben Preisner had posted faster qualifying times, Woodfine's team argued Athletics Canada didn't present complete information on the runner's history or performance progression in announcing its decision.
It subsequently launched an appeal and contended AC's decision was partly based on use of race results outside of the Olympic qualifying window and from non-marathon events. In rejecting the appeal, Athletics Canada commissioner Frank Fowlie stated he saw "no bias or improper consideration or ignorance of information by the NTC [National Team Committee]."
"It was out of my control so you try not to dwell on it too much," said Woodfine, who returns to the London Marathon on Sunday as the lone elite Canadian runner after setting a personal-best and Olympic qualifying time of 2:10:51 at the event last Oct. 4.
"The ultimate goal [is] to become a world-class marathoner and compete at the highest level, and not being selected for Tokyo didn't really change that. It would have been a great experience but it's not the be-all and end-all."
Greg Kealey, Woodfine's coach, said Olympic team selection is difficult and while "disappointed" at the outcome, respected AC for being open and transparent during the process. After losing the appeal, he told Woodfine to do his talking on the course and put himself in a better position for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"We felt Tristan proved his fitness under extreme conditions in London and his consistent improvement over time was evidence of his ability to perform on-demand," Kealey told CBC Sports this week.
Brutal conditions
On a cool, rainy and windy day, Woodfine took two minutes 25 seconds off his PB to place 14th among 29 finishers over 42.2 kilometres.
In October 2019, Woodfine ran 2:13:16 to finish second to Hofbauer among Canadian men at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, a two-minute drop from his previous best of 2:15:19 just nine months earlier at the Houston Marathon.
Levins, on the other hand, has struggled to regain his 2018 form when he ran 2:09:25 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon to beat Jerome Drayton's 43-year-old Canadian record that remains. Levins ran 2:15:01 the next year.
WATCH | Levins sets Canadian men's record in marathon debut:
Last year in London, he dropped out late in the race when his body didn't respond well to the weather. Seven months later, Levins went to move ahead of Woodfine in Olympic qualifying.
"My opinion on performance on-demand is to be able to replicate something on a given day, not once," said Kealey, who founded the Ottawa-based Bytown Storm Triathlon Club in 2001 and remains a provincial coach with Triathlon Canada. "Even if [Woodfine] runs 2:10:30 [on Sunday] that's another personal best and he'll have been consistent over four years in improving his performance at the marathon distance."
. "This year, there is really nothing for me to lose so we'll see what I've got.
I've seen a consistent improvement in his depth of fitness.— Coach Greg Kealey on Canadian marathoner Tristan Woodfine
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
