Canadians aim for Olympic standard in Rotterdam

The Rotterdam marathon on Sunday looks to be exciting, with three Canadians vying for Olympic berths and a few runners taking aim at the world record.

Canadians Rob Watson, Krista Duchesne and Lanni Marchant are all trying to meet the Canadian Olympic marathon standard at Sunday’s race. Watson will need to run 2:11:29, while Duchesne and Marchant need to reach 2:29:55.

But the Canadians aren’t the only ones gunning for glory in the Netherlands. There are two sub-2:06 marathoners in the field, and the race organizers will give 225,000 Euros to the winner if he betters Haile Gebrselassie’s 2:03:59 former world record set in 2008.

Moses Mosop, who ran 2:03:06 in Boston last year, heads the field.

The Vancouver Sun is also reporting that Canadian Dylan Wykes may make a last-ditch attempt at the standard. Wykes, who dropped out of the Lake Biwa Marathon in March after 26K, hasn’t confirmed.

Stay tuned to Canadian Running on Sunday for all the action at the Rotterdam marathon.