Posted: July 5, 2006

Athletics: Gerein, Roy and Bergeron win medals at Peachtree Road Race

ATLANTA - Wheelchair racers Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., Clayton Gerein of Saskatoon and Dean Bergeron of Quebec City all won medals on Tuesday in the 10 kilometre event at the Peachtree Road Race.

In the men’s race, Santiago Sanz of Spain won the gold medal while Gerein, a six-time Paralympian, took the silver and Bergeron was third.

“This was a race I really wanted to finish ahead of Clayton because it is his kind of course,” said Bergeron, a bronze medallist in the 800 metre at the 2004 Paralympic Games. “We got to a climb that we call ‘Cardiac Hill’ and that’s where he beat me. Still I’m delighted with my race I bettered my personal best time on this course by two minutes.”

In the women’s race, Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland took the gold with her compatriot Sandra Graf passing Roy with about 800 metres to go to earn the silver. Roy won the bronze.

“Edith and Sandra will be two of my big rivals at the world championships (in September) and in this race I showed I’m very close to them,” said Roy. “There is just some endurance elements I need to work on. I was really pleased with my race today and I responded well to the heat. I just didn’t see Graf at the end. I thought she was further back.”

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

Heading into the Peachtree Race, Sanz led the standings with 6,846.93 points, Roy was second at 6,784.11 and Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa third at 6,739.60. Michel Filteau of St-Jean-Baptiste, Que., was eighth.

The next stop in the Series is this Thursday to Saturday at the Canadian Paralympic Championships set for TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.

Comment on this story.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest