Trevor Hofbauer successfully defends Canadian men's title at Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Trevor Hofbauer cruised to his second straight Canadian men's title at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon while his cross-country coach Malindi Elmore, running the event for the first time, was the first Canadian woman to reach the finish line on Sunday morning.

Hofbauer, running on his own for much of the final 10 kilometres, pounded his chest three times with his right hand after the final turn of the 42.2 km race, blew a kiss and raised his right arm before reaching the finish line in 2:11.00.

The 30-year-old set a 2:09:51 personal best in his 2019 Toronto victory before COVID-19 wiped out in-person competition each of the past two years.

Elmore, who is Hofbauer's neighbour in Kelowna, B.C., stopped the clock in 2:25:14 in her first Canadian marathon.

A two-time Olympian, the 42-year-old fell two minutes shy of taking back her national women's record that Natasha Wodak, her good friend, lowered to 2:23:12 on Sept. 25 in Berlin.

Elmore's coach and husband, Graham Hood — also a two-time Olympian in the 1,500 metres — stressed earlier this week his wife's focus was on winning a Canadian championship and not the national mark.