Cam Levins
Levins in 2013
Personal information
Birth nameCameron Levins
Born (1989-03-28) March 28, 1989
Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
Employer(s)Asics (2023–)
before: Nike, Hoka One One
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb; 9 st 11 lb)
Sport
CountryCanada
SportTrack and field
EventLong-distance running
University teamSouthern Utah Thunderbirds
Coached byJim Finlayson, Eric Houle
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Canada
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2014 Glasgow10,000 m

Cameron Levins (born March 28, 1989) is a Canadian long-distance runner.[1] He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new Canadian record.[2] He is the North American record holder for the marathon and the Canadian record holder for the half marathon.

Levins represented Canada at the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Career

Cam Levins comes from Black Creek and Courtenay, British Columbia.[3]

In college, he competed for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds under coach Eric Houle. In 2012, he won the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the NCAA Championships. For his efforts, he also won the Bowerman award as the top collegiate track and field athlete, becoming the first Canadian to do so.

He qualified for the 2012 London Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events at the 2012 Canadian Olympic Trials in Calgary, Alberta, where he took first place in the 5000 m. At the Games, Levins finished 14th in the 5000 m in a time of 13:51.87 and 11th in the 10,000 m with a time of 27:40.68, despite catching the flu just before the finals.[4][5]

He finished 14th in the 10,000 meters at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow.[6]

Levins was the Men's 2012 Bowerman Award winner,[7] which is the NCAA's annual award to the most outstanding collegiate athlete in track & field. He was the first Canadian recipient of the award.[8]

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, he led down the final stretch with a "spectacular kick" but finished third in 27:56.23, less than one-tenth of a second behind winner Moses Kipsiro.[9]

On October 21, 2018, making his marathon debut, Levins broke Jerome Drayton's 43-year-old Canadian men's record for the marathon, finishing fourth in the 29th annual Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:09:25, a 44-second improvement on the previous national record.[10][11]

He represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,[12] placing 72nd in the Olympic marathon in a time of 2:28:43.

Levins finished fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in a new Canadian men's record time of 2:07:09, taking two minutes off his previous national record set in 2018; it was also the best Canadian finish ever in the event.[2]

On February 12, 2023, he broke Ben Flanagan's 2022 Canadian record in the half marathon with a time of 60:18 at the First Half in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to break the 61-minute barrier in the event (Flanagan's record was 61:00).[13]

On March 5, 2023, Levins improved his own Canadian marathon record by more than 90 seconds to break the North American record and finish fifth at the Tokyo Marathon. He ran a time of 2:05:36, taking two seconds off the previous area best.[14]

Levins would make his New York City Marathon debut on November 5. He came through 5 km and 10 km with the lead group in 15:29 and 30:39 before being dropped from the lead group after 13 km. After running detatched from the leaders for several kilometres, he would drop out of the race around 20 km.

Representing  Canada
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
2011 World Cross Country Championships Punta Umbría, Spain 56th Senior race 36:36
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 14h 5000 m 13:51.87
11th 10,000 m 27:40.68
2013 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 41st Senior race 34:27
World Championships Moscow, Russia 14th 10,000 m 27:47.89 SB
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 8th 3000 m 7:57.37
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 10,000 m 27:56.23
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 24th (h) 5000 m 13:48.72
14th 10,000 m 28:15.19
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, OR, United States 14th (h) 3000 m 7:54.81
2018 World Half Marathon Championships Valencia, Spain 30th Half marathon 1:02:15
2021 Olympic Games Sapporo, Japan 71st Marathon 2:28:43
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 4th Marathon 2:07:09
Road races
2018 Houston Half Marathon Houston, TX, United States 37th Half marathon 1:05:00
Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Philadelphia, PA, United States 3rd Half marathon 1:03:09
Toronto Waterfront Marathon Toronto, Canada 4th Marathon 2:09:25
2019 NYC Half Marathon New York, NY, United States 18th Half marathon 1:05:10
Toronto Waterfront Marathon Toronto, Canada 12th Marathon 2:15:01 SB
2020 London Marathon London, United Kingdom DNF Marathon DNF
The Marathon Project Chandler, AZ, United States 15th Marathon 2:12:15
2021 S7 Marathon Fürstenfeld, Austria 1st Marathon 2:10:14 SB
2022 Canadian Half Marathon Championships Winnipeg, Canada 1st Half Marathon 1:03:23
Valencia Half Marathon Valencia, Spain 19th Half marathon 1:01:04
2023 First Half Vancouver, Canada 1st Half marathon 1:00:18 NR
Tokyo Marathon Tokyo, Japan 5th Marathon 2:05:36 AR
Canadian 10K Championships Ottawa, Canada 2nd 10 km 28:40
Canadian Half Marathon Championships Winnipeg, Canada 1st Half Marathon 1:01:42
NYC Marathon New York, NY, United States DNF Marathon DNF

Career highlights

  • Two-time NCAA Champion:[15][16]
    • 2012: 5000m, 10,000m
  • 14-time Summit League Champion:
    • 2008–09: 1500m
    • 2009–10: XC, mile (indoor), 3000m (indoor)
    • 2010–11: 1500m, 5000m
    • 2011–12: XC, 800m(indoor), mile (indoor), 3000m (indoor), 5000m (indoor), 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m
  • Three-time Canadian XC Champion: 2010, 2011, 2012

Canadian record holder for:

See also

References

  1. "Cameron Levins". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Cam Levins shatters Canadian men's marathon record in 4th-place finish at worlds". CBC Sports. July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  3. Will Cam Levins become Canada’s greatest distance runner? | Canadian Running Magazine
  4. Levins finishes 11th in Olympic 10,000m
  5. Levins finishes 14th in Olympic 5,000m despite flu
  6. "10,000 Metres men -14th IAAF World Championships". August 18, 2013. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018.
  7. "Cam Levins, Kimberlyn Duncan are 2012 Recipients of The Bowerman ::: The Bowerman: The Nation's Top Award for Collegiate Track & Field Athletes". The Bowerman. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  8. Cameron Levins wins Bowerman Award
  9. Ewing, Lori (August 2, 2014). "Levins an 'also-ran' no more". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press.
  10. Harrison, Doug (October 21, 2018). "Cam Levins obliterates Canadian men's record in marathon debut". CBC Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  11. "Sportstats - Race Results". www.sportstats.ca. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  12. "Athletics Canada announces Olympic marathon teams". Canadian Running Magazine. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  13. Dickinson, Marley (February 12, 2023). "Cam Levins shatters Canadian half-marathon record at Vancouver's First Half". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  14. Dickinson, Marley (March 5, 2023). "Cam Levins annihilates Canadian record at 2023 Tokyo Marathon". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  15. "Eric Houle - Head Coach - Staff Directory". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  16. "TFRRS | Cameron Levins – Track and Field Results & Statistics". www.tfrrs.org. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
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