Posted: June 19, 2006

Athletics: Diane Roy wins 10 kilometre wheelchair race at The Rolling Rampage event

June 19th 2006, TORONTO - Paralympic Games medalist Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., wasn’t bothered by the hot and humid conditions on Sunday and even set a course record to win the gold medal in the women’s 10 kilometre race at The Rolling Rampage wheelchair racing competition.

Roy clocked the Queen’s Park loop course in 24 minutes and 48.10 seconds to break the previous mark of 25:00.00 set by Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal last year. Shelly Woods of Britain was second in 26:26.65 and Tracey Ferguson of Toronto was third in 27:00.00.

‘’I had a great start and really attacked the first lap,’’ said Roy, coming off some self-described disappointing performances in Europe last month. ‘’After that, everyone raced pretty much on their own so I was pretty happy to get the record under those circumstances. Tracey had a slow leak in her tire which slowed her down otherwise she may have challenged me for the victory.’’

In the men’s 10 kilometre race, Saul Mendoza of Mexico and Kurt Fearnley of Australia tied for first in 21:14 and defending champion Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa was third. Kelly Smith of Vancouver was fourth and Michel Filteau of St-Jean-Baptiste, Que., fifth, both Canadians clocked within four seconds of the winner.

"’I still lack some confidence at the end of races but this was my best one this year,’’ said Filteau. ‘’I didn’t time an opening properly at the end of the race to get into the medals.’’

The competition is part of the World Series of elite wheelchair racing at which athletes earn points from track and road events at each leg of the Series. The athletes with the highest point totals, regardless of gender or class, are named the top 10 in the world.

The Rolling Rampage, now in its fourth year, is a project of the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons(CFPDP), in cooperation with The Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Rotary Club of Toronto - Don Valley , the Rolling Rampage raises awareness for sport and athletes with a disability as well as provides funds for Canadian paralympic athletes.

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