Canada害羞草研究所檚 Cam Levins never lost his self-belief.

And after nearly four frustrating years of disappointing finishes, dropouts, and the loss of his sponsor, Levins wrote a remarkable comeback story on Sunday, shattering his own Canadian record, racing to an historic fourth place in the marathon at the world track and field championships.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 thrilled, obviously. I害羞草研究所檓 over the moon,害羞草研究所� Levins said.

The 33-year-old from Black Creek, B.C., ran two hours seven minutes nine seconds to crush the 2:09.25 he ran in Toronto in 2018. The previous top Canadian finish was 10th by Peter Maher in 1993.

Tairat Tola of Ethiopia pulled away over the final kilometres to win gold in 2:05.36. Teammate Mosinet Geremew won the silver in 2:06.44, while Bashir Abdi of Belgium took bronze in 2:06.48.

Back in 2018, in his marathon debut, Levins achieved what had eluded Canadian marathoners for decades, breaking Jerome Drayton record that had stood for 43 years.

The future looked bright.

But he failed at three attempts to run the Tokyo Olympic qualifying standard before hitting it with a week to spare. At the Olympics, he faded to 72nd place in sizzling 34 C temperatures in Sapporo.

Levins wasn害羞草研究所檛 re-signed for 2022 by HOKA, the team he害羞草研究所檇 been with since 2018. He has no sponsor.

He posted on social media that he害羞草研究所檚 seeking redemption in Eugene. And did he ever deliver.

害羞草研究所淚t was crazy going from one of the last-place finishers at the Olympics, to one of the top finishers at the world championships,害羞草研究所� Levins said. 害羞草研究所淚 took so much away from the Olympics last year, I just realized I need to be better, in just like every aspect of my training.

害羞草研究所淚 really had an incredible buildup, like the last six months, I害羞草研究所檝e trained really well, the hardest I have in every conceivable way,害羞草研究所� added Levins, who won the Canadian half-marathon championships recently in Winnipeg. 害羞草研究所淲hen I got to the start line, I knew I was ready.害羞草研究所�

But the marathon is difficult to predict. Anything can happen over the last 10 kilometres, no matter how well-prepared athletes are, Levins pointed out.

害羞草研究所淚 felt great throughout the race. But even despite that, it害羞草研究所檚 still really hard on your legs, hard to keep going like that,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 was feeling great, but it was still a difficult last 10K. When I was coming into the last lap, I was telling myself 害羞草研究所業害羞草研究所檓 here to medal, I害羞草研究所檓 gonna do this.害羞草研究所� I was definitely telling myself that I was here for a big performance.

害羞草研究所淚 think that害羞草研究所檚 part of the big result is always believing that was going to happen, besides just preparing for it.害羞草研究所�

Levins hung in amid a large group at the front on the fast and flat course that featured plenty of scenic views. The 30-year-old Tola broke free over the final couple of kilometres.

害羞草研究所淚 tried to prepare myself for a long time for this,害羞草研究所� Tola said through an interpreter. 害羞草研究所淚t was my dream.害羞草研究所�

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The real race was for silver, with the 33-year-old Abdi pushing Geremew all the way to the finish before running out of steam.

Fans lined the course several people deep, a welcome sight after so many marathons over the past two years were contested in bubbles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian friends and family members weren害羞草研究所檛 permitted to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics

On Sunday, Levins had his parents Barb and Gus, his wife Elizabeth, and his in-laws there.

害羞草研究所淭here were tons and tons of people in the crowd itself. I heard my name a zillion times. It was super cool. The Oregon crowd here was so, so great,害羞草研究所� he said. (My family was) jumping back and forth on the course, I saw them quite a bit. Mostly I heard my parents, rather than saw them, I recognized my mom害羞草研究所檚 voice pretty good a couple of times.害羞草研究所�

Levins hadn害羞草研究所檛 had the chance to find his family in the crowd just minutes after his finish. But his thoughts were already about how thankful he was that they害羞草研究所檝e had his back.

害羞草研究所淚t can be hard for your family, someone like my wife, to keep supporting me even when I lost my contract and funding in general, so it害羞草研究所檚 been really amazing,害羞草研究所� Levins said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been a tough last year. It害羞草研究所檚 also been a really rewarding last year as far as training goes. I couldn害羞草研究所檛 be more thankful for them.害羞草研究所�

Levins, who lives a couple of hours north of Eugene in Portland, is coached by Victoria害羞草研究所檚 Jim Finlayson.

The runners were able to push the pace with the temperature hovering at a comfortable 13.9 Celsius with cloud cover. That害羞草研究所檚 quite a contrast to the conditions at worlds in Doha when the men害羞草研究所檚 marathon was held at midnight to avoid the searing heat. The temperature was still around 29 Celsius.

Levins moved up to the marathon after a decorated track career. He won bronze in the 10,000 in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and raced to 11th place in the 10,000 and 14th in the 5,000 at the 2014 London Olympics, despite catching the flu before the finals.

Rory Linkletter of Calgary was 20th on Sunday in a personal best 2:10.24, while Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont., was 28th in 2:11.47.

害羞草研究所淎ll three of our Canadians I think ran really, really well today,害羞草研究所� Levins said. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e just in kind of an amazing era of marathoning, and I害羞草研究所檓 happy to have my name up there with some of the best ones.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 going to, I hope I have a long career still ahead of me, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.害羞草研究所�

After a slight delay, 1972 Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter signalled the start of the race that sent the runners along a three-loop course that finished in front of the University of Oregon害羞草研究所檚 Autzen Stadium. The route wound through the cities of Eugene and Springfield.

The course crossed over the Willamette River and ventured alongside Pre害羞草研究所檚 Trail, the bark running trail that害羞草研究所檚 named in honor of University of Oregon running icon Steve Prefontaine, who died in a car accident in 1975.

The field was missing Kengo Suzuki after the Japanese team had a few cases of positive tests for COVID-19. Also not racing was Kenyan marathoner Lawrence Cherono, who was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after testing positive for a banned substance used to treat chest pain resulting from lack of blood supply and oxygen to the heart.

害羞草研究所� By Lori Ewing in Toronto. With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press

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