Ben Flanagan wins Canadian men's title in marathon debut, placing 10th in Toronto Waterfront race

Ben Flanagan achieved his goal of winning a Canadian title in his marathon debut, reaching the finish in two hours 15 minutes 41 seconds on a warm and windy Sunday morning at the Toronto Waterfront event.

Flanagan, who wants to represent Canada at a second Olympics in 2028, pulled away from Toronto’s Andrew Alexander around the 25-kilometre mark and ran the final 17.2 km on his own.

With shades resting on his head, Flanagan waved to the crowd and smiled over the final 200 metres. Then, he raised both arms while crossing the finish line before leaning over a fence for several seconds to catch his breath.

“I’m so happy, but my body was plummeting the last 3K,” the Kitchener, Ont., native told race organizer Canada Running Series. “To [win] with the wind [gusting to 53 km per hour], I feel I can go faster.

“Main goal was to finish, win and learn from the mistakes I made in the build, in the race, and get better from here.”

The 30-year-old Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., finished 10th overall and seven minutes behind winner Leonard Langat, who led a Kenya sweep of the top three positions in 2:08:05.

Phil Parrot-Migas, from London, Ont., was second among Canadian men in 2:17:16, followed by Toronto’s Andrew Alexander (2:18:16). Flanagan joked he “hated” seeing Alexander on his heels, saying it made him nervous, given the latter’s marathon experience and running before a home crowd.

Recently, Flanagan told CBC Sports that Alexander is “made for marathon” and it would be evident to those in Sunday’s crowd. Alexander, 26, ran a 2:12:55 personal best last January in Houston and was third at the Canadian 10K Road Racing Championships on May 24 in Ottawa.

Flanagan hoped to create a gap on the competition and succeeded around 25K,