Elaine Van Blunk
American long-distance runner
Elaine Van Blunk
Birth name Elaine McGillam Born (1964-09-11 ) September 11, 1964 (age 59) United States Sport Athletics
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
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
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
Road race wins
National titles
References
^ 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 .
^ "Elanie Van Blunk" . World Athletics . Retrieved December 22, 2020 .
^ a b "Finally Free of Injuries, McGillian Running Wild" . Philadelphia Daily News . April 18, 1986. p. 126. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ 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 .
^ a b c "Blue Cross Broad Street Run" . Philadelphia Daily News . May 5, 1997. p. 102. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ a b "Van Blunk sets course record" . Hartford Courant . June 28, 1993. p. 18. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cross-Country" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . November 11, 1981. p. 42. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Dougerty girls take track title" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . May 23, 1981. p. 76. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ a b c d "Elaine Van Blunk" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . April 26, 1990. p. 52. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ a b "UNITED STATES INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)" . GBR Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ a b c "UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)" . GBR Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ "PAN-AMERICAN GAMES: Havana, Cuba 1991" (PDF) (pdf). Association of Track and Field Statisticians . p. 16. Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ "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 .
^ a b "Facts 'n' Figures" . Philadelphia Daily News . April 20, 1999. p. 160. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Women 10000m Athletics IV World Championship 1993 Stuttgart (GER) – Saturday 21.08 – Gold Medal: Junxia Wang, China" . Todor 66. Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ "OREGON RUNNER COLLAPSES – AFTER WINNING RACE" . Chicago Tribune . October 31, 1994. Retrieved December 20, 2020 .
^ "Women Marathon Athletics V World Championship 1995 Goteborg (SWE) – Saturday 05.08 – Gold Medal: Maria Manuela Machado, Portugal" . Todor 66. Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ 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 )
^ 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 )
^ a b c Elaine van Blunk . World Athletics. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
^ 1991 Pan American Games full results . ATFS. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
^ 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 )
^ a b c d Elaine vanBlunk . Association of Road Racing Statisticians . Retrieved January 7, 2021.
External links
1975–1979Amateur Athletic Union 1981–1992The Athletics Congress 1993–presentUSA Track & Field Notes *Distances have varied as follows: 2 Miles (1975–1986) and odd numbered years since 2015, 3000 meters (1987–2014) and even numbered years since 2014