| Eric Gillis | |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Sport: | Running |
| Event: | 10,000 metres, half marathon, marathon |
| Collegeteam: | St. Francis Xavier X-Men |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
| Weight: | 127lbs |
Eric Gillis (born March 8, 1980) is a Canadian athlete. He was born and raised in the community of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He resides in Guelph, Ontario as the head coach of the St. Francis Xavier University cross country and track teams.
Gillis ran collegiately for the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men from 1998 until 2004, during which time he individually won the CIS Cross Country Championship and competed at the World University Games twice.[1] Since becoming a professional, Gillis has experienced much national and international success during his athletics career. He represented Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10,000m, as well as the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. Gillis qualified for the London Olympics on October 16, 2011, with a 2:11:28 finish at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. In 2016 he was inducted into the StFX Sports Hall of Fame and in 2017 was named assistant coach of the X-Men Cross Country and Track and Field Teams, and become the head coach in 2018 respectively.[2]
Gillis went to the Beijing Summer Olympics as a member of Team Canada. He competed in the 10000 metres event on August 17, 2008, in the Beijing National Stadium. Though he was aiming to finish among the top 20, he finished 33rd overall with a time of 29:08.10.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Gillis competed in the men's marathon. He finished in 22nd place with a time of 2:16:00.[4]
In July 2016, he was named to Canada's Olympic team.[5] He finished 10th in the marathon in a time of 2:12:29, the first Canadian man to finish in the top 10 in the Olympic marathon since 1976.[6]