Dayna Pidhoresky wins Canadian Marathon Championships in Olympic standard
Pidhoresky ran a gutsy race on Sunday and it paid off
Dayna Pidhoresky was a surprise victor at the 2019 Canadian Marathon Championships in a huge personal best of 2:29:03, just under the Olympic standard of 2:29:30. Her personal best before Sunday was a 2:36:08.
RELATED: Kangogo, Pidhoresky win Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon
Grace under pressure.#TOWaterfront42k pic.twitter.com/iYm8UbnZmP
— Toronto Waterfront Marathon (@TOwaterfront42k) October 20, 2019
Pidhoresky ran an extremely gutsy race, taking it out hard and fading a bit in the second half. But her killer lead was enough to secure her the win, an Olympic qualifying time and a spot on the Tokyo 2020 team.
RELATED: Trevor Hofbauer runs Olympic standard, wins Canadian Marathon Championships
Pidhoresky, like Hofbauer, was a bit overshadowed coming into this event. The runner has an impressive resume, but not one that was quite as strong as Malindi Elmore or Kinsey Middleton’s. Middleton came in as the defending champion and Elmore had a better personal best by four minutes. However, Elmore was unfortunately unable to compete this weekend due to an injury, and Middleton, the 2018 Canadian champion, had a tough day, finishing in 2:34:32.
Pidhoresky’s time makes her the fifth-fastest Canadian marathoner of all time.
Emily Setlack, who finished second, also had an amazing day running a massive personal best of 2:29:43. On Sunday she was over five minutes better than her old PB, which she ran in Rotterdam in 2019. Setlack ran World Championship standard in 2019 and was in the conversation for the Doha championships that took place earlier this year. Ultimately, Setlack wasn’t named to the team, but she put her fitness to good work with her performance on Sunday.
.@DaynaPidhoresky following her 2019 Canadian Marathon Championship win: pic.twitter.com/1IzkkYHBeI
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) October 20, 2019
The Tokyo team will be Pidhoresky’s first Olympic team, with Sunday being her first Canadian Championship title. She is an unsponsored athlete and someone who bet on herself on Sunday and it paid off.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
