“More races. Get sharp.” That’s what 800m runner Melissa Bishop had to say when Flotrack asked her what she needed to get in the 1:59’s after winning in Madrid on Sunday in 2:00.13. What Bishop didn’t realize is it would only take one race, breaking her own club and provincial record Tuesday night in Luzern. The Eganville native crossed the line in 1 minute 59.52 seconds to finish third at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Meeting. The previous record of 1:59.70 was set at the NTL Victoria last season.
At the 400m mark, Bishop sat in fifth, but was already making her move to catch up to the lead pack, which hit the bell at 56.5 seconds. “It got out hard. I kept moving with the pack”, said the 2012 Olympian. “Felt like I got a little boxed in off the corner with 100m to go, but I’ve just got to respond to that.” Respond she did, as lane one opened up, Melissa sprinted home for third.
Looking forward, Bishop will race next week at the Pan Am Games in Toronto with the semi-finals taking place Tuesday at York University, with the goal of making a run for gold in the final on Wednesday night. “It’s going to be great. I mean home town crowd, home field advantage. It works to my advantage.”
