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Melissa Bishop opens season with 1,500m personal best

The Canadian 800m record holder ran a personal best in her first race since giving birth

Melissa Bishop

Melissa Bishop-Nriagu opened her 2019 outdoor season on Saturday in Windsor, Ont. in a 1,500m personal best of 4:09.36. The Canadian 800m record holder and Olympic finalist got her season underway at the Johnny Loaring Classic and looked very smooth cruising to a victory at her home track.

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Saturday wasn’t only Bishop’s season opener, but also her first race back since giving birth to daughter Corinne last summer. The Johnny Loaring classic is where Bishop has historically opened her season, typically running over-distance.

RELATED: WATCH: A day in the life of Melissa Bishop-Nriagu

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With a start this strong to her season, it’s looking like the 800m star will be back in full force this year, hopefully earning herself a spot on the Doha World Championships team. She will compete at the Canadian national championships in Montreal at the end of July in hopes of securing that spot.

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RELATED: Runners mourn loss of Windsor coach Gary Malloy

Corey Bellemore won the men’s 1,500m in 3:46.58. The men’s 1,500m was named after the late Gary Malloy who passed suddenly while away at a training camp in Oregon on May 2.  Malloy was a coach with the Windsor Lancers for over 20 years, working with Dennis Fairall until Fairall retired and left the program to Malloy.

RELATED: VIDEO: A day in the life with Corey Bellemore

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