| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Elaine McGillam | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 11, 1964 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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.
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]
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]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | World Cross Country Championships | Aix-les-Bains, France | 34th | Senior race | 20:07 | [18] |
| 5th | Senior team | 112 pts | [18] | |||
| 1991 | World Cross Country Championships | Antwerp, Belgium | 28th | Senior race | 21:18 | [19] |
| 4th | Senior team | 77 pts | [19] | |||
| World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 8th | 3000 m | 8:58.23 | [20] | |
| Pan American Games | Havana, Cuba | 7th | 10,000 m | 36:10.91 | [21] | |
| 1993 | World Cross Country Championships | Amorebieta-Etxano, Spain | 89th | Senior race | 21:40 | [22] |
| 10th | Senior team | 167 pts | [22] | |||
| World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 21st | 10,000 metres | 33:42.85 | [20] | |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | — | Marathon | DNF | [20] |
