Rory Linkletter

Rory Linkletter (born 12 August 1996) 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 of 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. In 2019, the two would get married. As of 2024, the couple have two children.

Linkletter lives and trains in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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. He finished in 76th place.

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.

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. A few weeks later, he competed in the at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. He finished in 82nd place.

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.

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 of 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.