Natasha Wodak misses Olympic marathon standard in final attempt

Natasha Wodak gave it her all. On Sunday, she toed the line at the Hamburg Marathon in a final attempt to hit the qualifying standard for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It just wasn’t her day: “Abdominal cramps from the very beginning & quads went to shit @ 30k,” Wodak posted on X post-race. Wodak finished 12th, in 2:30:24, missing the women’s Olympic standard of 2:26:50 by several minutes.

Unfortunately not my day out there:( Abdominal cramps from the very beginning & quads went to shit @ 30k. But we never give up- proud that I finished. Gutted the Olympic dream is over. https://t.co/F67AWksIeQ

— Natasha Wodak (@tasha_wodak) April 28, 2024

The Hamburg Marathon was the finale in a season of hard effort by Wodak geared toward Paris. After falling short of the Olympic standard at the Houston Marathon in January, Wodak, 42, quickly embarked on another marathon build. Wodak runs less mileage than some other elite athletes, and includes a lot of cross-training in her build, which provides an aerobic hit while minimizing the risk of injury. Her career has had some remarkable successes: Wodak is the national record holder in the marathon, and finished 13th in her first Olympic marathon in Tokyo.

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A post shared by Natasha Wodak (@tashawodak)

Wodak’s preparation for Hamburg went well, and in the days leading up to the race she reported that she felt much more ready than in Houston. “Looking back at not just the last 12 weeks—but the last year of hard, consistent work leaves me feeling confident & ready,” she wrote on Instagram. “I truly have enjoyed the process.”

Canada so far has three marathoners slated to head to the Olympics in August—Cam Levins and Malindi Elmore, who both received early nominations from Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, and Rory Linkletter, who ran 2:08:01 at the Seville Marathon to qualify. Fellow Canadians Ben Preisner, Leslie Sexton and Dayna Pidhoresky also raced Hamburg in the hopes of hitting the standard, and all were DNFs. It’s expected some may race next Sunday’s Copenhagen Marathon in Denmark, on the final day of Olympic qualification, in a last-ditch attempt to secure the standard they need for entry to Paris 2024.

Despite failing to meet the standard in Hamburg, Wodak was proud that she never lost hope. “But we never give up— proud that I finished,” she wrote on X. “Gutted the Olympic dream is over.”