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Rory Linkletter

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Rory Linkletter
Linkletter competing at the 2023 World Athletics Championships
Personal information
Citizenship Canada
 United States
Born (1996-08-12) August 12, 1996 (age 28)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma materBrigham Young University
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Sport
CountryCanada
SportLong-distance running
Event(s)Marathon, 10,000 metres
University teamBYU Cougars
TeamPuma (2022–Present)
Hoka NAZ Elite (2019-2021)
Turned pro2019
Coached byRyan Hall (2022-present)
Ben Rosario (2019-2021)
Ed Eyestone (2014-2019)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)10,000 metres: 28:12.42 (Stanford 2019)
Half marathon: 1:01:02 (Houston 2024)
Marathon: 2:08:01 (Seville 2024)

Rory Linkletter (born August 12, 1996)[1] is a Canadian long-distance runner. He represented Canada in the marathon at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He holds a personal best of 2:08:01 set at the 2024 Seville Marathon making him the second fastest Canadian of all time over the distance. He formerly held the Canadian half marathon record from January to October 2022 set at the 2022 Houston Half Marathon.

Early and personal life

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Linkletter moved to Herriman, Utah at the age of 5.

While a freshman at Herriman High School, he was introduced to running after his friend brought him to a summer practice. After graduating high school, he enrolled at Brigham Young University where he would compete for the Cougars track and field and cross country teams.

At BYU, he met fellow BYU athlete Jill van Dielo, who competed for the Cougars gymnastics team. They married in 2019 and as of 2024, have two children.

Linkletter lives and trains in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Collegiate career (2015–2019)

2015

During his freshman year at BYU, Linkletter was selected to compete for Canada at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China. He would go on to place 84th in the junior men's race.

2016

In 2016, his first full track season for BYU, he qualified for the outdoor NCAA Championships at Hayward Field where he would go on to place 19th in the 5000 m.

The following cross-country season, he placed 32nd at cross country nationals in Terre Haute as the 2nd finisher on the 7th place Cougars team.

2017

In March 2017, he competed in the senior men's race at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Kampala, Uganda.[2] He finished in 76th place.[2]

Linkletter would run a 5000 m personal best of 13:49.00 to qualify for 2017 indoor nationals before going on to place 11th at the national meet College Station.

Outdoors, he finished as the runner up over 10,000 m at nationals, just 1.42 seconds behind first place finisher Marc Scott.

Linkletter in 2018.

2018

At the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, he contested the 5000 m, placing eighth. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, he doubled in the 5000 m and 10,000 m. After a poor showing in the 10,000 m, placing 24th, Rory rebounded in the 5000 m, placing eighth.

2019

In 2019, he finished in 5th place in the senior event at the 2019 NACAC Cross Country Championships held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[3] A few weeks later, he competed in the at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark.[4] He finished in 82nd place.[4]

During the 2019 outdoor track season, his final year competing for BYU, he ran personal bests of 13:36.41 over 5000 m in April and 28:12.42 over 10,000 m in May. At the NCAA Championships, he chose to solely contest the 10,000 m, placing 15th.

Professional career (2019–present)

Hoka (2019–2021)

After graduating from BYU, Linkletter turned professional signing with Hoka One One and joining Northern Arizona Elite, a training group based in Flagstaff, Arizona and coached by Ben Rosario.

In June 2019, Linkletter placed 3rd at the Canadian 10,000 m Championships. Later that summer he competed at the Pan American Games in Lima, where he placed 6th in the 10,000 m.

Just 10 weeks after the Pan Am Games, Linkletter made his marathon debut in Toronto, running a time of 2:16:42.

At his second marathon ever in December 2020, Linkletter ran a four minute personal best of 2:12:54 at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona.

After a disappointing 2021 Boston Marathon where he finished 33rd in 2:23:34, Rory rebounded with a two second personal best and second place finish at the 2021 California International Marathon where he ran a time of 2:12:52.

In December 2021, Linkletter announced he was leaving Hoka Northern Arizona Elite and coach Ben Rosario to pursue other opportunities.

Puma (2022–present)

In early 2022, Linkletter signed with Puma and began being coached by American half marathon record holder Ryan Hall, remaining in Flagstaff, Arizona.

In January 2022, Linkletter set a Canadian half marathon record of 1:01:08 at the Houston Half Marathon running over a 30 second personal best in the process.

In 2022, Rory was selected to compete in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He go on to run a two minute personal best of 2:10:24, placing 20th and finishing as the second behind Cam Levins' Canadian record of 2:07:09.

In October 2022, Linkletter finished 7th at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:13:32, three minutes off his personal best from Eugene.

After pulling out of the 2023 London Marathon due to injury, Linkletter shifted focus to the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Amidst humid conditions in the Hungarian capital, Linkletter finished 18th in a time of 2:12:16, the second fastest marathon of his career.

In fall of 2023, Linkletter finished 4th at the Manchester Road Race and broke the four minutes in the mile for the first time, running 3:59.05 in Boston, becoming the 74th Canadian to run sub-4 and only the second to have done so whilst also having run a sub-2:12 marathon.

In January 2024, Rory ran a half marathon personal best of 1:01:02 at the Houston Half Marathon. The following month in Spain he ran a personal best of 2:08:01 at the Seville Marathon, achieving the Olympic standard of 2:08:10, making him eligible to be selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and becoming the second fastest Canadian of all time over the distance.

Competition record

International Competitions

Representing  Canada
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Guiyang, China 84th Junior race 27:24
2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Kampala, Uganda 76th Senior race 31:54
2019 NACAC Cross Country Championships Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 6th Senior race 32:13
IAAF World Cross Country Championships Aarhus, Denmark 81st Senior race 35:05
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 6th 10,000 m 28:38.49
2022 World Championships Eugene, Oregon 20th Marathon 2:10:24
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 18th Marathon 2:12:16

Marathons

Representing Hoka NAZ Elite (2019–21) and Puma (2022-present)
Year Competition Venue Position Time
2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon Toronto, Ontario 16th 2:16:42
2020 Marathon Project Chandler, Arizona 17th 2:12:54
2021 Boston Marathon Boston, Massachusetts 33rd 2:23:34
California International Marathon Sacramento, California 2nd 2:12:52
2022 Toronto Waterfront Marathon Toronto, Ontario 7th 2:13:32
2024 Seville Marathon Seville, Spain 13th 2:08:01

Other Road Races

Representing Hoka NAZ Elite (2019–21) and Puma (2022-present)
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2020 Houston Half Marathon Houston Texas 15th Half marathon 1:01:44
Michigan Pro Half Marathon Oakland County, Michigan 9th Half marathon 1:02:37
2021 US 15 km Road Running Championships Jacksonville, Florida 13th 15 km 44:41
Valley ONE Half Marathon Valley, Nebraska 1st Half marathon 1:03:57
4 July Downtown Mile Flagstaff, Arizona 5th Mile 4:20
Deseret News 10K Salt Lake City, Utah 1st 10 km 28:06
2022 Houston Half Marathon Houston, Texas 8th Half marathon 1:01:08
Atlanta Half Marathon Atlanta, Georgia 5th Half marathon 1:05:19
New York City Half Marathon New York City, New York 10th Half marathon 1:02:19
Cooper River Bridge Run Charleston, South Carolina 6th 10 km 28:43
Canadian 10 km Championships Ottawa, Ontario 2nd 10 km 29:02
Copenhagen Half Marathon Copenhagen, Denmark 45th Half marathon 1:04:28
2023 New York City Half Marathon New York City, New York 15th Half marathon 1:04:21
Canadian 10 km Championships Ottawa, Ontario 7th 10 km 29:51
Peachtree Road Race Atlanta, Georgia 17th 10 km 29:12
Manchester Road Race Manchester, Connecticut 4th 7.641 km 21:17
2024 Houston Half Marathon Houston, Texas 6th Half marathon 1:01:02
Gifu Half Marathon Gifu, Japan 14th Half marathon 1:04:16

References

  1. ^ "Rory Linkletter". World Athletics. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Senior men's race" (PDF). 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Men's senior race". 2019 NACAC Cross Country Championships. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Senior men's race" (PDF). 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
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