Cam Levins is preparing to take on the world.
The Black Creek long distance runner is in Beijing for the 2015 IAAF World Championships where he runs the 10,000m race Saturday, Aug. 22 at 5:50 a.m. PT. He's also scheduled for the 5,000m heat on Aug. 26 in Beijing at 6:35 p.m. PT on Aug. 25. The 5,000m final goes Aug. 29 at 4:30 a.m. PT.
The championships go Aug. 22-30 at the National Stadium. A link to live coverage and daily highlights is at http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships
Levins mother Barb reports her son has been training in Japan for the past few weeks in order to avoid the smog in Beijing. "(They) will just fly over a day or so before their respective events to try not to be in it too terribly long and will wear masks during training."
Levins finished fifth in the 5,000m at the Pan Am Games in Toronto in July after smashing the Canadian 10,000m record at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon in May. The 26-year-old won bronze in the 10,000m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland and ran both the 5,000m (finishing 14th) and 10,000m (11th) events at the 2012 London Olympics. At the 2013 IAFF World Championships in Russia he finished 14th in the 10,000m.
Levins, a G.P. Vanier graduate, holds the Canadian two-mile record and is a three-time Canadian cross-country champion.