Peter Fonseca

1995 Shoppers Drug Mart Toronto Marathon

Many of Gillis’s best performances were witnessed by Peter Fonseca, another Canadian Olympian who is now the Member of Parliament for Mississauga East-Cooksville. Over the years, Fonseca has held the finish tape, greeted other vips at the hospitality area, and even run the 5k fun run with his sons. Two decades earlier, he achieved a world-beating performance on the streets of Toronto.

Fonseca won the 1995 Shoppers Drug Mart Toronto Marathon in a personal best of 2:11:34 – still the ninth-fastest Canadian performer – beating a world-class field that included the Kenyans William Koech (second, in 2:11:50) and William Musyoki (third, in 2:12:46). “It was really important to win at home, feeling the pride in Canada,” Fonseca now says. “They did assemble a world-class field. I was training very well. I had won the Houston Marathon back in January (2:11:52), which was my best.”

The pack dwindled to three by 39 km, with Fonseca leading Koech and Musyoki. The Russian, Leonid Shvetsov, wasn’t far behind, should anyone falter. “I figured these guys would have a good kick, so if I am going to do this, I would have to do it now,” Fonseca recalls of his decision to push for home. “I steeled myself mentally. I didn’t surge very hard. I said, ‘You have got to hold this for three or four minutes to really break them.’ And it worked.”

Paul Gains is a full-time freelance journalist. He has covered 11 outdoor IAAF Outdoor World Championships and five summer Olympic Games.