Canada’s Ben Flanagan shines in indoor 5,000m, qualifies for Paris Olympics

Ben Flanagan had planned to spend a portion of this year attempting the Olympic qualifying standard in the men’s 5,000 metres.

But the Canadian runner only needed one indoor race and less than a month to accomplish his goal.

Flanagan, 29, set a personal best of 13 minutes 4.62 seconds indoors on Friday at Boston University, placing fifth at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. The automatic entry standard is 13:05.00 for the Paris Games this summer.

His previous best in the event was nearly seven seconds slower in 13:11.12 at the same competition a year ago.

Nearly three years ago, Flanagan inched closer to the 13:13.50 standard for the Tokyo Olympics that summer by running 13:20.67 in Boston but fell short of first Olympic berth in a final attempt less than a month later with a 13:33.90 effort in Oregon.

The native of Kitchener, Ont., clocked 13:13.97 to open the 2023 outdoor campaign but never got close to that time as the season progressed. In August, Flanagan went 13:38.69 at the World Athletics Championships but didn’t advance from the heats in Budapest, Hungary. 

“You never want to not make a final. I came away feeling close to being at a level I think I’m capable of being at,” Flanagan, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., told CBC Sports last September before placing 12th of 41 finishers in the men’s 5K race at the first World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia.

“I think there’s a little bit more in there and I think I could have [finished] the season being faster than a 13:13 guy, but those opportunities will come.”

Philibert-Thiboutot targets Canadian records

Kieran Lumb, who was fifth in the elite men’s mile in Riga, was the other Canadian in the race aiming for the Olympic standard on Friday in Boston and crossed the line in 13:16.59, an indoor PB.

In the men’s mile, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot of Quebec City opened his season finishing second in a 3:53.41 PB. The time ranks third all-time indoors among Canadian men, represents a Quebec record and meets the standard for the March 1-3 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Philibert-Thiboutot, who was a pacer in one of the men’s 5,000 heats on Friday, ran under standard last July on the Diamond League professional circuit.

The 33-year-old told Citius Mag he will aim for a pair of Canadian records in February, racing the 3,000 at the New Balance Grand Prix on Feb. 4 in Boston and a week later in the mile at the Millrose Games in New York.

Lumb holds the national mark in the 3,000 from Dec. 2 at 7:38.39, while Cam Proceviat has been tops in the mile (3:52.54) since Feb. 27, 2022.

On Saturday in Boston, three Canadian women placed among the top five in the 800, led by Lucia Stafford in a 2:01.79 PB for the win. Maddy Kelly’s 2:02.38 was her fastest time since 2022 indoor worlds (2:02.06) and Aurora Rynda posted a one-second PB for fifth in 2:03.25.

Arop in winning form

Elsewhere, Marco Arop was victorious in the men’s 800 at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ariz., clocking 1:45.51 indoors in his first race of the year, or 39-100ths of a second off his PB.

The Edmonton native’s spectacular 2023 season outdoors featured world and Canadian titles, two PBs and a 1:42.85 national mark in the 800.

WATCH | Arop’s Canadian record run at 2023 Diamond League Final:

Paris will mark the 25-year-old’s second Olympics.

“If Marco makes the final in Paris, that’s a success,” his Mississippi-based coach Chris Woods told CBC Sports last September. “He’s a world champion but not yet an Olympic finalist so that’s the goal, and then we can focus on medals and winning.”

Arop was seventh in his semifinal heat at the Tokyo Olympics and didn’t advance, placing 14th overall.

Sprinter Andre De Grasse, the reigning Summer Games champion in the 200, was sixth on Saturday in his first indoor race since 2021.

The Markham, Ont., athlete covered the 60 metres in 6.66 seconds, 6-100ths shy of his 2015 PB, at the Astana Indoor Meet in Kazakhstan — the first of seven World Indoor Tour Gold meets on this year’s calendar.

The 29-year-old ended last season winning the 200 at the Diamond League Final in a season-best 19.76 seconds.

WATCH | De Grasse wins 200m at Diamond League Final: 

Andre De Grasse stuns field to capture Diamond League 200m title

Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., ran a season’s best time of 19.76 seconds to win the 200m Diamond League title in Eugene, Ore. Fellow Canadian Aaron Brown of Toronto finished 6th with a time of 20.23 seconds.