By the end of August, Eric Gagné, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Cy Young winning pitcher, may not be the only famous figure from the Montreal suburb of Mascouche. Émilie Mondor is currently one of the fastest rising stars in women's middle distance running. And with Courtney Babcock, Canada has a solid 1-2 punch in the 5,000 metre event.
Mondor finished 12th at the world championships last year in the 5,000. In the semifinal she broke the Canadian record clocking 14:59.58 before Babcock beat that time in the final. She has opened the 2004 campaign with three victories.
"The 5,000 is now considered like a long sprint," said Mondor, only 22-years-old in a sport where most reach their peak in their early thirties. "At the end of the world championships I was completely spent."
Mondor is a biology student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
