Posted: June 13, 2005

Athletics: Diane Roy and Michel Filteau win 10 kilometre wheelchair race

STE-THERESE, Que.- Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., carried last week's success in Europe to the streets of this Montreal suburb on Sunday with an impressive victory under very hot and humid conditions in a 10-kilometre wheelchair race.

Roy, a double medallist at the Paralympic Games last year, took the gold in 26 minutes and 50 seconds finishing about a minute ahead of quintuple Paralympic champion Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal, who was racing for the first time in almost a month.

"Chantal and I always have great battles in the 10 kilometre and this time I won," said Roy who returned last week from a successful series of competitions in Europe capped by a double gold performance at the Swiss Championships. "I tried to keep an even pace throughout the race and I was able to start breaking away from her in the third lap (of seven laps)."

Petitclerc last raced on May 15 at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, England where she won two gold medals against her top international rivals.

"The first two laps went well and then I started to feel the effects from the heat," said Petitclerc, who won the 10 kilometre at the Defi Sportif in Montreal on May 1. "It was a tough day."

In the men's race, Michel Filteau of St-Jean-Baptiste, Que., posted one of his best performances this season winning convincingly in 22:48. Marc Ledo of Ottawa was second and Daniel Normandin of Montreal, third.

"I stayed with the pack early on to gauge the pace of the race," said Filteau, who was also in Europe the last couple of weeks. "Eventually I took a peak behind me on one of the climbs and saw I was pulling away. So I just kept that pace. I tend to race well in this kind of heat so that didn't really bother me too much."

The competition is part of a four-race 10 kilometre wheelchair racing series. The first race was the Defi Sportif and the next two races are in September at the Montreal Marathon and in Quebec City.

Many of North America's top wheelchair racers including Petitclerc, Roy and Filteau compete next Saturday in Toronto at the first stop in the America Series.

From: Canadian Sport News.