Eric Gillis led an impressive day for the Speed River Track and Field Club in Heusden, Belgium at the KBC Nacht Meeting. Gillis narrowly missed the win in his section of the 5000 meters, posting a seasonal best time of 13:36.88. Gillis who led the race from the 2.4 kilometer mark was passed in the homestretch by American Ben Bruce. The race was a significant improvement for Gillis on his effort at the Canadian Olympic Trials where he finished second in 13:55.65. Gillis will be running the 10000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and was using the 5000 meters as prep for the longer distance.
Fellow Beijing bound Speed River athlete Taylor Milne was third in his section of the 1500 meters. Milne crossed the line in 3:39.43, after the race Milne commented that he felt “flat” after having traveling over from Guelph earlier in the week. Teammate Kyle Boorsma continued his tremendous season with a 3:42.12 clocking in the same section as Milne. For Boorsma, this time was the second fastest of his life and adds to his quickly growing resume.
Canadian Steeplechase Champion Rob Watson focused on speed work as he preps for a steeple later this week in Sweden. Watson set a 1500 meter lifetime best with a 3:50.33, while teammate Tim Konoval did much of the leading in the same section as Watson before fading to fifth in a 3:46.71 clocking.
Rounding out a busy night at the track was Cleve Thorson, who competed in one of the final races of the evening, the National section of the men’s 5000 meters. Thorson, shattered his lifetime best by over 15 seconds as he ran 14:13.80 which ranks him seventh in Canada this year, and gives Speed River three athletes in the top seven of the 5000 meter rankings, joining Gillis (first) and Milne (fifth).
The Speed River group is currently on the New Balance Euro Tour. Where they are competing in a number of meets in Belgium as part of the Flanders Cup series. Next up will be a meet Wednesday evening in Brasschaat, Belgium.
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