For the primary time since 2022, a Canadian runner has gained the BMO Vancouver Marathon. After ending third final yr, Sergio Raez Villanueva of Mississauga, Ont., broke the tape in Vancouver on Sunday with a time of two:22:45, marking the quickest time ever by a Canadian on the course.
It was a weekend to recollect for Raez Villanueva, who chalked up his first profession marathon win, which occurred to be the morning after he saved one other elite marathoner from choking at dinner.
Raez Villanueva instructed Canadian Operating that he needed to carry out the Heimlich maneuver. “He was choking on some meals, and it helped,” says Raez Villanueva. “The expertise left me very shaky afterward, however I suppose that additional adrenaline translated properly for the marathon.”
Raez Villanueva ran with McMaster College throughout his collegiate profession and made the transfer as much as the marathon in 2022, with a tenth place end on the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:18:04, which nonetheless stands as his private greatest. Raez Villanueva returned to Toronto this previous yr, ending because the third Canadian in 2:20:48.
Ending behind Raez Villanueva for second was Chris Balestrini of London, Ont., in 2:23:53. Matthew Neumann of Canmore, Alta., rounded out the rostrum with a time of two:24:46.
The ladies’s race noticed two worldwide athletes cross the end line in first and second. Argentina Valdepeñas of Guadalupe, Mexico, gained the ladies’s marathon by practically a minute over Kate Landau of Tacoma, Wash., in 2:39:38. Landau crossed the end line precisely 56 seconds later for a time of two:40:35. Vancouver’s personal Emily Andrews rounded out the highest three with a time of two:45:02.
Greater than 23,000 individuals gathered for the annual occasion beginning in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park and ending within the downtown Coal Harbour neighbourhood. Contributors for this yr’s race ranged from seasoned athletes to first-time marathoners, and collectively raised over $360,000 for charity, contributing to the exceptional influence of the RUN4HOPE charity program.
For full outcomes from the BMO Vancouver Marathon weekend, go to right here.
