Kelowna marathoner Malindi Elmore continues to soar after making third Olympic team.
On Feb. 7, Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee officially announced that Elmore and fellow B.C. resident Cam Levins received early nomination to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Elmore, age 43, snagged the Olympic qualifying time at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:23:30, which was also a new personal best.
READ MORE: Kelowna’s Elmore snags Olympic qualifier at Berlin marathon
Hopeful Canadian marathoners who have not yet hit a qualifying time at a sanctioned race have until June 30, to run the Olympic standard of 2:26:50 for women and 2:08:10 for men.
Elmore made her first Olympic team in 2004, where she competed in the 1550m race on the track. She then retired from competitive athletics in 2012, but it did not stick. After her retirement Elmore began competing in triathlon and had two children. Shortly after the birth of her second son, Elmore decided that her time as an elite runner was not over, and returned from retirement in 2019 to race in the Chicago marathon.
She then made her second Olympic team in 2020, where she placed ninth in the Tokyo marathon.
Now, four years later, Elmore is still breaking down barriers and achieving greatness.
“It’s definately a dream come true and something I didn’t expect to happen after retiring in 2012, but I love to run and race and just can’t seem to stop,” said Elmore in a statement to Capital News after being named to the 2024 Canadian Olympic team.
One of Elmore’s iconic sayings is, “there is no best before date.”
Elmore credits her success to her supportive family and support network.
“Representing Canada at the Olympics is such an honour and something that means a lot to me and my family and my amazing team.”
In addition to being a mom and elite athlete, Elmore is also the coach of the UBC Okanagan Heat Cross Country team.
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