Wykes finishes 20th in marathon

Marathoners have strong showing in difficult conditions

Dylan Wykes and Reid Coolsaet – London 2012

For the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Canada fielded a full men’s marathon entry at the Olympic Games.  The trio of Reid Coolsaet of Hamilton, Ont., Eric Gillis of Antigonish, N.S., and Dylan Wykes of Kingston, Ont., did not disappoint in very tough conditions.  All three men finished in the top 30 with Wykes leading the way in 20th position in a time of 2:15:26.   

Dylan Wykes talks about the race, “It was brutal out there, I tried to be conservative and then run people down, in the second half I passed 10 to 15 guys. 20th position, I’m happy. 19th would have been nice, would have been nice to get in the teens.”

Eric Gillis finished just behind Dylan in 2:16:00 for 22nd overall. “I’m happy with the strategy and execution, I’m pleased with 22nd. I was hoping for top 16 but in these conditions I thought I did as well as I could.”

Reid Coolsaet had a difficult day, he experienced problems during the race which affected his performance.  He finished in 27th overall with a time of 2:16:29. “I was having trouble keeping stuff down, I bonked. I was moving well until the 23-kilometre mark, but then I just started moving back. Nothing was staying down and at 23 it all caught up to me. I don’t regret going out as hard as I did.”