Ben Flanagan achieved his goal of winning a Canadian title in his marathon debut, reaching the finish in two hours 15 minutes 41 seconds on a warm and windy Sunday morning at the Toronto Waterfront event.

Flanagan, who wants to represent Canada at a second Olympics in 2028, pulled away from Toronto’s Andrew Alexander around the 25-kilometre mark and ran the final 17.2 km on his own.

With shades resting on his head, Flanagan waved to the crowd and smiled over the final 200 metres. Then, he raised both arms while crossing the finish line before leaning over a fence for several seconds to catch his breath.

“I’m so happy, but my body was plummeting the last 3K,” the Kitchener, Ont., native told race organizer Canada Running Series. “To [win] with the wind [gusting to 53 km per hour], I feel

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