Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (PT) is on fire, turning in another fantastic performance just a week after placing in the top five at New York’s Fifth Avenue Mile. This morning, PT flew through Downtown Toronto to not only claim the Canadian 5K Road Race Championship, but set a new record for running that distance on Canadian soil in the process. Charles’ time of 14:04 put him about two seconds ahead of the previous record, set at the same race by Kenyan Wesley Korir in 2012. Fellow Olympians Nathan Brannen (14:07) and Lucas Bruschet (14:08) followed in second and third.
Andrea Seccafien, who represented Canada in the Women’s 5000m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, edged out Pan-Am medalist Sasha Gollish to take the women’s title with a time of 16:10. Gollish finished with a 16:11 followed by Laura Batternick, who ran a 16:13 to round out the top three.
According to Yorkville Run, winners had the opportunity to earn up to $8,000 for their efforts on Sunday, which will close out summer racing for many athletes. Many of the track specialists will turn their attention to the cross-country course or take extended downtime before racing again indoors in the winter.
-Ravi Singh