Canada's Cam Levins was ready for Tokyo. After refining his running style following a disappointing Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon, he set a personal best in the 2023 Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, finishing fifth while setting a North American record.
The 33-year-old posted a time of two hours, five minutes 36 seconds, lowering his previous Canadian record of 2:07:09. Ethiopian runners swept the podium in Tokyo, with Deso Gelmisa winning the race in a time of 2:05:22, while Mohamed Esa and Tsegaye Getachew finished second and third, respectively.
Levins started off strong with the lead pack, with the top men reaching the four-kilometre mark in 11:55, with the Black Creek, B.C.
native in the middle of them all before he hit the five-kilometre mark in 14:49. Skipping several hydration stations along the way, Levins ran composed and conservative through the opening 10k, keeping himself within race contention before reaching the halfway point at 1:02:11.