Cameron Levins (born March 28, 1989) is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new Canadian record. He was formerly the North American record holder for the marathon and Canadian holder for the half-marathonRory Linkletter runs under 1 hour to break Canadian half marathon record for 2nd time in 4 years | CBC and is the current Canadian record holder for the marathon.
Levins represented Canada at the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Career Cam Levins comes from Black Creek and Courtenay, British Columbia.Will Cam Levins become Canada’s greatest distance runner? | Canadian Running Magazine
In college, he competed for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds under coach Eric Houle. In 2012, he won the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the NCAA Championships. For his efforts, he also won the Bowerman award as the top collegiate track and field athlete, becoming the first Canadian to do so.
He qualified for the 2012 London Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events at the 2012 Canadian Olympic Trials in Calgary, Alberta, where he took first place in the 5000 m. At the Games, Levins finished 14th in the 5000 m in a time of 13:51.87 and 11th in the 10,000 m with a time of 27:40.68, despite catching the flu just before the finals.Levins finishes 11th in Olympic 10,000mLevins finishes 14th in Olympic 5,000m despite flu
He finished 14th in the 10,000 meters at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow.
Levins was the Men's 2012 Bowerman Award winner, which is the NCAA's annual award to the most outstanding collegiate athlete in track & field. He was the first Canadian recipient of the award.Cameron Levins wins Bowerman Award
In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, he led down the final stretch with a "spectacular kick" but finished third in 27:56.23, less than one-tenth of a second behind winner Moses Kipsiro.
On October 21, 2018, making his marathon debut, Levins broke Jerome Drayton's 43-year-old Canadian men's record for the marathon, finishing fourth in the 29th annual Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:09:25, a 44-second improvement on the previous national record.
He represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, placing 72nd in the Olympic marathon in a time of 2:28:43.
Levins finished fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in a new Canadian men's record time of 2:07:09, taking two minutes off his previous national record set in 2018; it was also the best Canadian finish ever in the event.
On February 12, 2023, he broke Ben Flanagan's 2022 Canadian record in the half marathon with a time of 60:18 at the First Half in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to break the 61-minute barrier in the event (Flanagan's record was 61:00).
On March 5, 2023, Levins improved his own Canadian marathon record by more than 90 seconds to break the North American record and finish fifth at the Tokyo Marathon. He ran a time of 2:05:36, taking two seconds off the previous area best.
Levins would make his New York City Marathon debut on November 5. He came through 5 km and 10 km with the lead group in 15:29 and 30:39 before being dropped from the lead group after 13 km. After running detached from the leaders for several kilometres, he would drop out of the race around 20 km.
On February 7, 2024, Levins, alongside fellow marathoner Malindi Elmore, received an early selection to represent Canada in the marathon at the 2024 Olympics.
Competition record 2011World Cross Country ChampionshipsPunta Umbría, Spain56thSenior race36:362012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom14h5000 m13:51.8711th10,000 m27:40.682013World Cross Country ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland41stSenior race34:27World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia14th10,000 m27:47.892014World Indoor ChampionshipsSopot, Poland8th3000 m7:57.37Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, United Kingdom3rd10,000 m27:56.232015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China24th (h)5000 m13:48.7214th10,000 m28:15.192016World Indoor ChampionshipsPortland, OR, United States14th (h)3000 m7:54.812018World Half Marathon ChampionshipsValencia, Spain30thHalf marathon1:02:152021Olympic GamesSapporo, Japan71stMarathon2:28:432022World ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States4thMarathon2:07:092025World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan12thMarathon2:11:07Road races2018Houston Half MarathonHouston, TX, United States37thHalf marathon1:05:00Rock 'n' Roll Half MarathonPhiladelphia, PA, United States3rdHalf marathon1:03:09Toronto Waterfront MarathonToronto, Canada4thMarathon2:09:25 2019NYC Half MarathonNew York, NY, United States18thHalf marathon1:05:10Toronto Waterfront MarathonToronto, Canada12thMarathon2:15:01 SB2020London MarathonLondon, United KingdomDNFMarathonThe Marathon ProjectChandler, AZ, United States15thMarathon2:12:15 2021S7 MarathonFürstenfeld, Austria1stMarathon2:10:14SB2022Canadian Half Marathon ChampionshipsWinnipeg, Canada1stHalf Marathon 1:03:23Valencia Half MarathonValencia, Spain19thHalf marathon1:01:042023First HalfVancouver, Canada1stHalf marathon1:00:18NRTokyo MarathonTokyo, Japan5thMarathon2:05:36 ARCanadian 10K Championships Ottawa, Canada2nd10 km28:40Canadian Half Marathon Championships Winnipeg, Canada1stHalf marathon 1:01:42Victoria Half MarathonVictoria, Canada1stHalf marathon1:01:18NYC MarathonNew York, NY, United StatesDNFMarathon DNF2024Asics Festival of RunningParis, France6th10 km28:11 NR2026World Road Running ChampionshipsCopenhagen, Denmark35thHalf marathon1:01:49
Career highlights Two-time NCAA Champion: 2012: 5000m, 10,000m 14-time Summit League Champion: 2008–09: 1500m 2009–10: XC, mile (indoor), 3000m (indoor) 2010–11: 1500m, 5000m 2011–12: XC, 800m (indoor), mile (indoor), 3000m (indoor), 5000m (indoor), 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m 11-time Canadian Champion XC: 2010, 2011, 2012 5000m: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 5 km: 2017 Half marathon: 2022, 2023 Marathon: 2018
Canadian record holder for: 2000 metres (indoor) – 4:55.35 (New York City 2014) 10 km – 28:11 (Paris 2024) (jointly held with Ben Flanagan) Half marathon – 1:00:18 (Vancouver 2023) Marathon – 2:05:36 (Tokyo 2023) AR 2023-2025
See also Canadian records in track and field
References
External links
Cameron Levins at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived, alternate link)