Canada's John Gay set for debut marathon in Ottawa after serious injuries nearly forced him to retire

John Gay will toe the line in his debut marathon Sunday in Ottawa, something he and those close to him never dreamed possible as recently as a year ago.

Gay tore his left hamstring in 2023 and left Achilles tendon the next year. Later in 2024, an MRI revealed a torn right hamstring he had run with for about six weeks. Gay returned to track running in 2025, only to be sidelined several more months after throwing out his back.

“It seemed like it was going to be curtains on my career,” the 29-year-old said this week from his home in Kelowna, B.C. “I was definitely in a position where it seemed getting myself to the previous version of John Gay, the runner, seemed like a tall order.”

But hope arrived in the fall of 2024, courtesy Canadian marathoner Rory Linkletter, who called his close friend of five years to “talk shop.” Seeking a training partner, Linkletter informed Gay he was joining coach Jon Green and Verde Track Club, based in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Gay visited for a month, “hit it off” with Green and relocated with his wife, Camille, in January 2025.

“That breathed some life into my career,” Gay recalled. “The impetus for the move to Flagstaff was to give myself a final shot at regaining some relevance as an athlete.

“He [Linkletter] had come off his best season and making his first Olympic team. It felt like it would be the right move. I believe it has been the right move. It’s just taken longer for it to play itself out the way I had envisioned.”

Three consecutive years of injury forced Gay from the 3,000-metre steeplechase after several successful seasons. He won back-to-back Canadian titles (2021, 2022), competed at two World Athletics Championships and placed 15th in his 2021 Olympic debut in Tokyo, where he