Athletics: Vancouver Sun Run attracts top elite field for Sunday’s Race

Vancouver (April 15, 2004) - Elite runners are all stepping it up this Olympic year, so expect the competition in this weekend’s Sun Run to be fierce. The fine quality of the fields in both races is fitting for this year’s 20th anniversary.

On the women’s side, two of the world’s outstanding distance runners will take on Burnaby’s own Emilie Mondor. Kenya’s Sally Barsosio, 26, and South Africa’s Elana Meyer, 37, have both had prolific running careers. Barsosio, a Sun Run champion in 1997, 2000, and 2001, returns to familiar terrain in Vancouver. She has won two medals in the 10,000 metres at the World Track and Field Championships: bronze in 1993, and gold in 1997. She has competed successfully on the track, roads and cross country, capturing a bronze medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1995.

Mondor, 22, recently showed that she can take on the Kenyan veteran. At the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels on March 20, Mondor finished 8th in the 8-km race, two places ahead of Barsosio. While this is Mondor’s first 10-km race, she has already proven herself on the roads. This past fall, she set a North American best time of 15:23 at a 5-km race in Chula Vista, Calif. In November she also won the prestigious Manchester Road Race in Connecticut, setting a new course record. Mondor has been selected to compete in Athens this summer in the 5,000 metres.

Elana Meyer will also prove to be a tough competitor for Mondor, putting her experience up against Mondor’s youth. The 1992 Olympic silver medallist in the 10,000 metres has an impressive resume, including world best marks over the 15-km and half marathon distances. Last year she posted a 32:17 10-km in Bali.

Last year’s winner Aster Demissie, a 20-year-old Ethiopian who lives in Edmonton, will be back to try to defend her title. Now a landed immigrant, she has lived in Canada since she competed for Ethiopia at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships. Her best road time of 32:36 would certainly put her in the mix.

The 2003 second and third-place finishers, Lucy Smith of Victoria and Tina Connelly of Port Coquitlam will also be ones to watch. Connelly was on the Canadian team along with Mondor that recently won a bronze medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships over the 4-km distance. Mondor finished 13th and Connelly finished 35th. Their performance was the best result for a Canadian team at the championships since 1983.

On the mens’ side, the race will feature Thomas Kiplitan, a Kenyan competing for the first time at the Sun Run. The 20-year-old has made a name for himself in Europe on the cross-country circuit, with top three placings in several high-profile races. Although he is relatively inexperienced on the roads, his best time of 28:48 and his 5th-place finish at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships make him a definite frontrunner. His countryman, David Njuguna, is no stranger to Vancouver. He won the 2003 Scotiabank Half Marathon with a time of 63:59. He also posted 27:59 at the Great Race in Pittsburgh in 2002.

Steve Boyd of Kingston Ont. was second here in 1998 and third in 1999, and will be making the trip out west again. Also watch for Victoria’s Graham Hood, an Olympian over 1500 metres (1992, 1996) looking to make strides at this distance. Local talent includes a pack of sub-30-minute runners, including Coquitlam high school teacher Mark Bomba, Vancouver engineering grad student Scott McLennan, and 2004 IAAF World Cross Country team member Matt Johnston of Surrey.

The Vancouver Sun Run is presented by HSBC Bank Canada. The race kicks off at 9 a.m. in downtown Vancouver. Athletes will compete for a prize purse of $20,000 with awards going to the top three male and female overall finishers, top five Canadian male and female finishers, and the first male and female Canadian masters.

For more information visit www.sunrun.com or call 604-689-9441.