Melissa Bishop to make much-anticipated 2017 debut Saturday
Canada's 800m star Melissa Bishop will return to the track and make her 2017 debut at Camel City Elite in North Carolina on Saturday.
Canada’s fastest 800m woman will be in action for the first time since the Rio Olympics this weekend.
Melissa Bishop, who finished fourth in Rio in a Canadian record time of 1:57.02, will race in Winston-Salem, N.C. at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday. The 28-year-old Eganville, Ont. native who trains out of Windsor, Ont. has not raced since Aug. 20.
Bishop, a two-time Olympian and world championship silver medallist, is the defending champion in the women’s 800m at what will be the fifth annual Camel City Elite. The competition is to be held at JDL Fast Track, which boasts a flat 200m surface. She set a facility record in 2016 running 2:02.10 and will be a heavy favourite again in 2017. The Canadian told LetsRun.com that she would like to break that record on Saturday. (The winner receives US$4,000 for the win plus US$1,000 for a meet record.)
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The University of Windsor graduate who has been in Miramar, Fla. for a training camp leading up to Saturday’s race is also the Canadian indoor 800m record holder. She ran 2:00.19 in February 2016 at the Glasgow Grand Prix. Beyond Saturday, the Nike-sponsored athlete will race an additional two races, both over 800m, in Europe in February.
Other Canadians in the field include Robert Heppenstall in the men’s 800m, Nathan Brannen in the men’s mile and Erin Teschuk in the women’s 3,000m. Brannen is a three-time Olympian; Teschuk made her first Olympics this past summer.
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