August 15, 2008 - Good luck posters for Olympian Eric Gillis are now all over the StFX campus and Antigonish, as the university, town and county rally to support their hometown hero.

"I'm feeling like I'm in personal-best shape and really looking forward to getting out there on the track and laying it down," Gillis said in an interview with the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

Gillis, a 2004 StFX human kinetics graduate, X-Men cross country alumnus, and Antigonish native, races in the 10,000m event in the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday, Aug. 17. The race is scheduled for 10:45 p.m. Beijing time or 11:45 a.m. Atlantic time. Gillis is the only Canadian in the race. He is hoping to finish in the top 20 in an event typically dominated by East African born runners.

"It is a huge accomplishment for a local runner to make it to the Olympic world stage and everyone at StFX is extremely proud of him," comments StFX Director of Athletics and Recreational Services Leo MacPherson.

Plans are in the works for several celebrations when Eric returns home. The Town of Antigonish will host a celebration early in September where they will honour Gillis along with Para Olympic swimmers Chelsey and Devin Gotell, also from Antigonish. StFX plans to honour the accomplished runner on Sept. 13 during the StFX Invitational cross country meet at the university.

Eric is the reigning two-time national champion in the 10,000m. He won the gold medal this past year at the Canadian championships in Toronto with a time of 29:28.11. His personal best time of 28:07.19 came this past May at a meet in California. Although this time bettered the Olympic "B" standard (28:20), the minimum requirement for an Olympic entry, Gillis was not originally named to the Canadian Olympic team and had to endure a trying appeal process before finally getting his ticket to Beijing and the chance to represent his country.

During his time at StFX, Gillis was the 2003 CIS champion and Runner of the Year. He was a CIS all-Canadian for four consecutive years and was the 2003 and 2004 StFX Athlete of the Year. He was a cross-country runner on two World University Games and represented Canada three times at the World Cross-Country Championships.

While at StFX, Eric was under the tutelage of veteran head coach Bernie Chisholm. "Eric showed what can be accomplished with hard work and dedication," his former coach comments. "I hope that Eric has a very positive experience. I think this is the first of a few Olympic Games that he will compete in and that his best races are still ahead of him."