X-Men cross country alumnus Eric Gillis qualifies for Olympics

Gillis makes Summer Games standard by one second

TORONTO — Eric Gillis of Antigonish and fellow Canadian runner Reid Coolsaet are London bound.
 
The duo booked their tickets to the 2012 Summer Games after bettering the Olympic standard of two hours 11 minutes 29 seconds Sunday at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Coolsaet finished third in the race with a personal-best time of 2:10.55 while Gillis was fourth, just finishing under the qualification mark with a time of 2:11.28.

Canada hasn't had a participant in an Olympic marathon since Bruce Deacon in Sydney in 2000.

``I can't believe it was by a second,'' Gillis said afterwards. ``A marathon and one second?

``I could've just as easily been one second over. I feel really, really lucky to get that standard. I couldn't have done it this time last year, I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to go after that. Things are working out well now, things are clicking.''

Coolsaet posted his time despite having to take a washroom break at about the 25-kilometre mark.

``It didn't take too much time but obviously I lost contact with the front pack,'' he said. ``Luckily I had a pacer and clawed my way up the next three kilometres and got myself up with that front pack again.''

Kenya's Kenneth Mungara won the race for the fourth straight year, posting a time of 2:09.51. Ethiopia's Shami Abdulahi Dawit was second.

``This was a very good day for me but it was very tough because it was very windy and cold,'' Mungara said.

Ethiopia's Koren Yal was the top female finisher in 2:22.43, with compatriot Mare Dibaba second in 2:23.25. Vancouver's Katherine Moore was eighth in 2:48.48.

Meanwhile, police said a 27-year-old man died after collapsing while running in the event. He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Coolsaet narrowly missed the Canadian record en route to finishing third. The 32-year-old from Hamilton's time was just off the mark of 2:10.09 set by Jerome Drayton in 1975.

Drayton's 36-year-old record is the oldest on the Canadian track and field record books.

``I'm really happy to have run a PB in these conditions,'' Coolsaet said. ``I was fortunate enough to have a good pack that I was able to use to block the wind and that really helped me for the first 35-36 kilometres and then I lost it.

``I didn't think I was running fast anymore and was just happy to be in third overall at that point. Then I came around the corner and saw the clock and was pleasantly surprised to have run a PB.''

Gillis said achieving the Olympic standard was foremost in his mind Sunday, but admitted the cool, blustery conditions created doubt in his pre-race thoughts.

``Yeah, there were so I had to work on those and get them out as soon as they came in,'' said Gillis, of Antigonish, N.S. ``I kept pushing them out.

``I had roomed with Reid the last couple of days and he's a real positive guy to be around and always looks to the bright side ... it wasn't an ideal anything out there and it's just a good feeling to get that under my belt.''

Gillis said despite the weather conditions, he felt very good physically through the first 34 kilometres of the race and was on pace to qualify for London comfortably. But that all changed near the end.

``With 300 metres to go, I wasn't sure,'' he said. ``I just knew I had to put my head down and get up on my toes as much as I could.

``I saw 27 (2:11.27) when I went under the clock but I don't trust that clock at all and I waited to hear the official time. It took about 10-15 minutes before anyone was able to say it definitively and that was a nice feeling when I did finally hear that.''

Coolsaet said also having Reid qualify for London will prove beneficial to both runners.

``Just the fact that now we can work together for the same marathon again is a huge benefit for both of us,'' he said. ``It works both ways and we're really excited to be able to focus on London from here on in.''