Eric Gillis (born March 8, 1980) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
athlete. He was born and raised in the community of
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. He resides in
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
as the head coach of the
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Franc ...
cross country and track teams.
Sporting career
Gillis ran
collegiately for the
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Franc ...
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
from 1998 until 2004, during which time he individually won the
CIS
Cis or cis- may refer to:
Places
* Cis, Trentino, in Italy
* In Poland:
** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central
** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north
Math, science and biology
* cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
Cross Country Championship and competed at the
World University Games twice.
Since becoming a
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
, Gillis has experienced much national and international success during his
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
career. He represented Canada at the
2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10,000m, as well as the marathon at the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and
2016 Rio Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
. Gillis qualified for the London Olympics on October 16, 2011, with a 2:11:28 finish at the
Toronto Waterfront Marathon
The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is an annual marathon held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October. The race day also includes a half marathon and 5 km race.
The race has quickly become an elite level marathon and is one of just five World ...
. In 2016 he was inducted into the StFX Sports Hall of Fame
and in 2017 was named assistant coach of the
X-Men Cross Country and Track and Field Teams, with plans to become head coach the following year.
Career highlights
*2016: 10th-place finish Olympic marathon (2:12:29)
*2016: Vancouver Sun Run winner, time 28:52
*2012: Competed at the Summer Olympics men's marathon event
*2011: Vancouver Sun Run winner, time 29:05.
*2008: Canadian 10,000 m Championships, Gold
*2008: Canadian Cross Country Championships, Silver
*2008: Competed at the Summer Olympics 10,000 m event, finishing 33rd.
*2007: Canadian Championships, Bronze
*2007: Canadian 10,000 m Championships, Gold
*2005: Canadian Championships, Bronze
*2003:
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
Cross Country Gold Medalist
2008 Summer Olympics
Gillis went to the Beijing Summer Olympics as a member of Team Canada. He competed in the
10000 metres event on August 17, 2008, in the
Beijing National Stadium. Though he was aiming to finish among the top 20, he finished 33rd overall with a time of 29:08.10.
2012 Summer Olympics
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Gillis competed in the men's marathon. He finished in 22nd place with a time of 2:16:00.
2016 Summer Olympics
In July 2016, he was named to
Canada's Olympic team. He finished 10th in the
marathon in a time of 2:12:29, the first Canadian man to finish in the top 10 in the Olympic marathon since 1976.
References
External links
*
*
Profile at Athletics Canada
1980 births
Living people
Canadian male long-distance runners
Olympic track and field athletes of Canada
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
People from Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Sportspeople from Nova Scotia
Sportspeople from Guelph
20th-century Canadian people
21st-century Canadian people
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