Canadian marathon trio misses Paris Olympic qualifying standard in Houston

Canadians Leslie Sexton and national record holder Natasha Wodak finished less than two minutes shy of the automatic entry standard for the Paris Olympic women's marathon on Sunday in Houston.

Sexton was eighth among elite women in two hours 28 minutes 14 seconds while Wodak, who also lives in Vancouver, clocked 2:28:42 for ninth. The standard is 2:26:50, with the qualifying window closing April 30 ahead of the Aug. 11 marathon in France.

Halfway through the 42.2-kilometre race, Wodak (1:12:08) and Sexton (1:13:17) were on pace to qualify for Paris.

Malindi Elmore of Kamloops, B.C., is the lone Canadian woman to have run standard for Paris, running 2:23:30 in the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 24.

Former Canadian record holder Lanni Marchant of Londn, Ont., also competed Sunday, reaching the finish in 2:38:32 for 15th. Last year, she only raced twice while dealing with mononucleosis, anemia and kidney stones.

On the men's side, Tristan Woodfine also ran strong for the majority of the race but also missed the 2:08:10 Olympic standard, placing sixth in a personal-best 2:10:39.

Two other Canadians also set PBs in the men's half marathon: Calgary-born Rory Linkletter (1:01:02, sixth) and Thomas Fafard of Repentigny, Que(1:02:19, 12th). Linkletter held the Canadian record for nine months in 2022, posting a personal best 1:01:08 in Houston.

Wodak, who is aiming to qualify for a third Olympics and second in the marathon, was hampered by a minor right hamstring strain for two weeks leading into Sunday's race. She also didn't have her original pacer, who had a death in the family earlier this week.

She told CBC Sports this week she could ran a last-chance marathon in April (Boston is scheduled for April 15) but questioned whether her