Posted: October 30, 2005

Athletics: Canada’s Diane Roy wins gold at Oita Marathon

OITA, Japan- Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., successfully defended her title in the women’s wheelchair race on Sunday at the Oita Marathon while Clayton Gerein of Pilot Butte, Sask., took the silver in the men’s quadriplegic race.

Roy clocked one hour and 46:07 minutes on the mainly flat course under windy conditions. Francesca Porcellato of Italy was second in 1:51:58 and Yvonne Sehmisch of Germany third in 2:05:45.

“It went very well considering I hadn’t had a major international race since August,” said Roy, a double medallist at the Paralympics last year. “It’s a mainly flat course and I wanted to get the lead from the start and hold that speed. While there are not that many women entries here there are more than 400 wheelchair racers overall so it was a big test.”

In the men’s quad race, Ito Tomoya of Japan was the winner in 2:00:02 with Gerein second in 2:02:53 and Takada Toshihiro of Japan third in 2:04:36. Gerein, a six-time Paralympian and one of Canada’s most decorated international athletes, said he found the race difficult and was pleased to get a medal.

In the men’s paraplegic race, Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa took the gold in 1:26:37 with Sasahara Hiroki of Japan second in 1:26:41 and Heinz Frei of Switzerland third in 1:29:35.

Alan Bergman of Vancouver was the top Canadian in 10th in 1:29.41, Michel Filteau of St-Jean-Baptiste, Que., was 16th in 1:37:24, Mark Ledo of Ottawa 23rd in 1:38:07.

“This was the fastest marathon I’ve been involved in since the Paralympics last year,” said Filteau. “The guys were attaining speeds of more than 40 kilometres an hour. I had a good first half but the speed was relentless.”

Several Canadian wheelchair racers including Roy and Chantal Petitclerc are expected to compete at the New York City Marathon next Sunday.