Posted: May 27, 2005

Athletics: Nordion 10K women's field minus Mondor

Emilie Mondor went for a 10-minute run on a treadmill in Montreal on Wednesday

Martin Cleary , The Ottawa Citizen

That may not seem like anything special for one of the world's up-and-coming long- distance runners, but it was indeed a noteworthy moment.

"It's the best I've felt since October," said Mondor, who placed 12th in the women's 5,000 metres at the 2003 world athletics championships.

Mondor, 24, only recently recovered from injuries and health issues, which had affected her since the end of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, where she ranked 17th.

As a result of an extended bout of tiredness after the Games, a fractured sacrum bone in her left leg and a strained meniscus cartilage in her right leg in April, Mondor was forced to cancel her entire international summer track season as well as withdraw from the National Capital Race Weekend's Nordion 10-kilometre race tomorrow.

Some of the top competitors in the race include defending women's champion Aster Demissie of Ethiopia, Asmae Leghzaoui of Morocco, Kenyans Grace Momanyi, Anastasia Ndereba and Teresa Wanjiku, and Canadians Lisa Harvey, Tania Jones and three-time Olympian Leah Pells. While Mondor won't be able to challenge in tomorrow's race, she is slated to appear today and tomorrow at the Sports Expo at the Carleton University Fieldhouse, as well as at the various races.

"It's unfortunate I had to withdraw. It was very tough, but it was for the best," Mondor said in an interview.

The time off allowed her to recover from her exhaustion and injuries. She plans to resume training June 11 with a new coach, the legendary Joe Vigil of the United States.

"I'll take all the time it takes to rebuild for a strong fall," said Mondor, who will focus on half-marathons, including the world championship Oct. 1 in Edmonton. "I'll jump one season to be better for another season."

Led by Simon Wangai, Reuben Chebii, Reuben Cheruiyot and Gilbert Koech, Kenyan runners should continue to dominate the men's field. El Arbi Khattabi of Morocco could serve as a spoiler.

The top Canadian males are former Nepean resident Bruce Deacon of Victoria, two-time Nordion winner Steve Boyd of Toronto and Jeremy Deere of Calgary.

Organizers of the National Capital Race Weekend announced yesterday that 24,001 people have registered to participate in the different race events this weekend, which is up from the 2004 total of 23,000.

© The Ottawa Citizen, Reprinted With Permission.