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Elaine Van Blunk

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Elaine Van Blunk
Personal information
Birth nameElaine McGillam
Born (1964-09-11) September 11, 1964 (age 60)
United States
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Long-distance running
USA Track & Field Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1989 New York City 3000 meters
Marathon
World Marathon Majors
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Chicago Marathon

Elaine Van Blunk (née McGillam;[1] born September 11, 1964[2]) is an American long-distance runner who finished third at the 1994 Chicago Marathon. She was the 1989 winner of the 3000 meters at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships, and finished seventh in the 10,000 meters event at the 1991 Pan American Games.

Personal life

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Van Blunk attended Archbishop Prendergast High School,[3] and later Saint Joseph's University.[4] She graduated from Saint Joseph's in 1986.[1] She is married to Jim Van Blunk, who was an athlete and later admissions director at Saint Joseph's University.[4] Jim Van Blunk won the 1986 and 1987 Broad Street Run races.[5] Van Blunk has lived in West Deptford Township, New Jersey,[4] and Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.[6]

Career

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Whilst at Archbishop Prendergast High School, Van Blunk competed in Catholic League girl's athletics competitions. In 1981, she finished third in the cross country event,[7] and in 1982, she won the 3,200 meter race in a meeting record time of 11:09.4.[8] Whilst at Saint Joseph's University, Van Blunk qualified for the 1985 NCAA Championships,[3] and in 1986, she became an all-America athlete.[9] After graduating, Van Blunk worked as an accountant,[1] and later as an investigator in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the office of the New Jersey Attorney General.[4] She gave up the role to pursue athletics full time,[4] although she also worked part-time as a track assistant at Saint Joseph's.[1] Van Blunk was sponsored by Nike.[4]

She was the 1989 winner of the 3000 meters event at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships.[10] In the same year, Van Blunk finished sixth in the Penn Relays mile run.[9] She also won a 3.5 miles (5.6 km) race in Park Avenue, New York City,[9] and a 3.1 miles (5.0 km) event at the Metropolitan Athletics Congress.[9] In 1990, Van Blunk won the 10,000 meters event at the Penn Relays. She finished second in the event in 1991, albeit in a faster time.[4] In 1990, Van Bluck won the 8 km road race at the United States Championships.[11] She competed at the 1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Seville, Spain,[4] and placed seventh in the 10,000 meters event at the 1991 Pan American Games.[12] In 1992, Van Blunk won a Dukes invitational 5,000 meters race in a time of 16:04.7.[13] In 1993, Van Blunk set a course record of 1:12:11 at the Fairfield Half-Marathon.[6] She also won the Broad Street Run,[5] in a course record time of 53:15,[14] and the half marathon event at the United States Championships.[11] She also finished 21st in the 10,000 meters event at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics.[15]

In 1994, Van Blunk finished third at the Chicago Marathon, 51 seconds behind winner Kristy Johnston. It was Van Blunk's second career marathon.[16] In 1995, she won the 25 km road race at the United States Championships,[11] and competed in the marathon event at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, but did not finish the race.[17] In 1997, Van Blunk won the Broad Street Run for the second time.[5][14]

International competitions

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Representing the  United States
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result Notes
1990 World Cross Country Championships Aix-les-Bains, France 34th Senior race 20:07 [18]
5th Senior team 112 pts [18]
1991 World Cross Country Championships Antwerp, Belgium 28th Senior race 21:18 [19]
4th Senior team 77 pts [19]
World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 8th 3000 m 8:58.23 [20]
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 7th 10,000 m 36:10.91 [21]
1993 World Cross Country Championships Amorebieta-Etxano, Spain 89th Senior race 21:40 [22]
10th Senior team 167 pts [22]
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 21st 10,000 metres 33:42.85 [20]
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden — Marathon DNF [20]

Road race wins

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National titles

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "She's in it for the long run". Philadelphia Daily News. August 1, 1991. p. 71. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Elanie Van Blunk". World Athletics. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Finally Free of Injuries, McGillian Running Wild". Philadelphia Daily News. April 18, 1986. p. 126. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Running hard in pursuit of an Olympic dream". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 12, 1991. p. 234. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Blue Cross Broad Street Run". Philadelphia Daily News. May 5, 1997. p. 102. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Van Blunk sets course record". Hartford Courant. June 28, 1993. p. 18. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Cross-Country". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 11, 1981. p. 42. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Dougerty girls take track title". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 23, 1981. p. 76. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d "Elaine Van Blunk". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 26, 1990. p. 52. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "UNITED STATES INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  12. ^ "PAN-AMERICAN GAMES: Havana, Cuba 1991" (PDF) (pdf). Association of Track and Field Statisticians. p. 16. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Van Blunk gets easy win in women's 5000 at Duke". The News & Observer. April 11, 1992. p. 31. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b "Facts 'n' Figures". Philadelphia Daily News. April 20, 1999. p. 160. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Women 10000m Athletics IV World Championship 1993 Stuttgart (GER) – Saturday 21.08 – Gold Medal: Junxia Wang, China". Todor 66. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "OREGON RUNNER COLLAPSES – AFTER WINNING RACE". Chicago Tribune. October 31, 1994. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "Women Marathon Athletics V World Championship 1995 Goteborg (SWE) – Saturday 05.08 – Gold Medal: Maria Manuela Machado, Portugal". Todor 66. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Magnusson, Tomas (February 15, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 6.0km CC Women - Aix-les-Bains Date: Saturday, March 24, 1990, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 24, 2013{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ a b Magnusson, Tomas (September 8, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 6.4km CC Women - Antwerpen Linkerover Date: Sunday, March 24, 1991, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 24, 2013{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ a b c Elaine van Blunk. World Athletics. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  21. ^ 1991 Pan American Games full results. ATFS. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Magnusson, Tomas (March 24, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 6.4km CC Women - Amorebieta Jaureguibarria Date: Sunday, March 28, 1993, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 25, 2013{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ a b c d Elaine vanBlunk. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
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