Benjamin Preisner

Biography

Benjamin Preisner made his marathon debut on December 20, 2020 at The Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona. Though there were more experienced competitors in the field, Preisner ended up as the top Canadian, finishing eighth in a time of 2:10:17 which was well under the Olympic entry standard of 2:11:30. It was the fourth-fastest marathon all-time amongst Canadian men at the time.

Preisner had run the steeplechase in high school and represented Canada on the track at the 2013 World Youth Championships and the 2014 World Junior Championships. He also competed internationally in the U20 race at the 2015 World Cross-Country Championships. Recruited to the University of Tulsa, he switched to the 10,000m as a junior. In his senior year in 2019, he represented Canada internationally again, this time in the senior race at the World Cross-Country Championships. He also competed at the 2019 World University Games, finishing ninth in the 10,000m.

It was also in 2019 that he ran his first half marathons, finishing first in Vancouver in June and in Toronto in October. He had planned to make his marathon debut in London in April 2020, but after that race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he instead ran his first marathon distance as a time trial, laying down an impressive time of 2:15:24. He was named to the Canadian team for the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships before Canada withdrew due to health and safety concerns.

A Little More About Benjamin

Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2019 with a degree in chemical engineering…