EUGENE, Ore. — Weini Kelati Kelati won her first national title in track and field in style on Saturday night. Since becoming a U.S. citizen just days before the 2021 Olympic Trials, Kelati, who moved to the U.S. in 2014 after competing in the World Junior Championships at Hayward Field, has had a rocky relationship with U.S. championships. She withdrew from the first Trials in 2021, then placed fourth in the 5,000 and fifth in the 10,000 in 2022. Last year, she was fourth in the 10,000 and eighth in the 5,000. Good enough to compete for the title, but not enough to make the team.
Not anymore. Not only will Kelati compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she will do so as the U.S. champion after winning the women's 10,000-meter final on the eve of the final day of the U.S. Olympic Trials. In a race that saw the lead change hands four times in the final 450 meters, the 27-year-old narrowly outlasted the University of Florida athlete to win the Under Armour Dark Sky Distance in 31:41.07 (66.76 final lap). Parker Valbyof the Bowerman Track Club. Carissa Schweitzer Separated by four-thousandths of a second, Valby and Schweitzer both recorded a time of 31 minutes 41.56 seconds.
Kelati is the only athlete in the race who has broken the Olympic standard of 30:40, making her a sure bet for the Olympics. Valby and Schweitzer will have to wait until their spots are officially decided, but their world rankings (more on that below) make them a strong possibility. These three are well ahead of the rest. Jessica McClainwho placed fourth at the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, was fourth again tonight in 32 minutes, 4.57 seconds, more than 20 seconds behind the leader.
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The 25-lap race was held in 78 degree weather, with half of the course in shade for a 6:09pm PST start, creating warm conditions for the race. Kelati set an Olympic standard time (Katie Izzo Although she was ranked in the cross-country rankings, she didn't rush the pace in the first half. Susanna Sullivan He led from the beginning and passed the 5km mark in 16:09.40.
Erica Kemp Valby took the lead with eight laps to go, then ran the next three in 78-74-75, and continued her race well, but the race really began when Valby, who had waited much longer than usual to take the lead, took the lead with five laps to go. Valby ran a 70 and it was soon a three-way battle, with Schweitzer and Kelati both keeping up with her. Valby kept chasing, running the next three in 71-70-70, but her rivals remained unfazed, and Schweitzer, who had beaten Valby to third place in the 5000 five days earlier, took the lead just before the final gong rang.
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Kelati passed Valby on the first turn to move into second place, but this time Valby had nowhere to go and Kelati responded to his move on the backstretch to take the lead. Schweitzer tried another winning move with 140 meters to go around the final turn and was able to pass Kelati but couldn't close the door on the inside, so Kelati mustered one last push and sprinted away along the rail to win. Valby gave it his all and caught up with Schweitzer with 50 meters to go and the two fought back and forth to the finish with Valby taking second place in a photo finish.
The top three all ran significant negative splits (Kelati 16:09.88/15:31.19) and all three finished under 4:40 in the final 1600 meters (Kelati 4:38.45, Valby 4:39.35, Schweitzer 4:39.14).
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QUICKTAKE: Weini Kelati's amazing 2024 season includes a trip to Paris
Kelati is known as a long distance specialist, winning the NCAA Cross Country in 2018 and the NCAA 10k title in New Mexico in 2019, but until this year her mileage was more like that of a 1500m runner, typically running 50-60 miles per week (six days). This year she finally decided to take a risk and increase her mileage and the results started to show immediately, making her half marathon debut in Houston in January and setting an American record of 66 minutes 25 seconds.
Since then, Kelati has been on a roll, winning the U.S. Cross Country Championships, placing 15th at World Cross Country Championships and setting PRs of 14:35 and 30:33 in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, respectively. And now she's heading to the Olympics as the U.S. champion.
Kelati has had an unconventional path to the Olympics: She left her family in Eritrea behind when she first came to Hayward Field 10 years ago for the World Junior Championships, deciding at age 17 to seek a better life in the United States. She eventually found relatives in Virginia, settled there, won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in 2015 and earned a scholarship to the University of New Mexico. And now, on the same track (sort of) that brought her to the U.S. in 2014, she's earned her new country an Olympic spot.
QUICKTAKE: Here's why Valby and Schweitzer are likely to compete in the Olympics
With only 27 spots available in the Olympic 10,000m, Auttoma's standard of 30 minutes, 40 seconds is incredibly fast — only six Americans have ever run that time — so Valby and Schweitzer will have to rely on qualifying through the world rankings. The good news for them is that that looks likely to happen.
World rankings are determined by the average of the two best performances during the qualification period. After tonight's finish, Valby will have 1213 world ranking points: he earned 1221 points for running 30:50 at the Bryan Clay Invite in April, and 1205 points for running 31:41.56 tonight (1155 points for performance, plus a 50-point bonus for coming second in the Category B competition).
Schweitzer will earn 1209 world ranking points. He earned 1218 points at The TEN in March with a time of 31:04, and tonight he will earn 1200 points with a time of 31:41.56 (1155 points for performance, plus 45 bonus points for coming third in the Category B competition).
Looking at the Road to Paris list, which takes into account the three-athlete limit per country, Valby and Schweitzer are ranked 29th and 30th, behind Slovenia. Clara LeCun (1218) But there are some moving parts that should help give them a boost.
First and most importantly, there are three Americans currently ranked higher than them. One is Kelati, the other three are Alicia Monson (9th) and Katie Izzo (19th, qualified via cross-country rankings). Monson didn't qualify due to injury and won't run in Paris, so that takes her out. And since USATF plans to honor the qualifying results, they'll likely send Valby and Schweitzer in Izzo's place if possible, which would put Valby in 27th and Schweitzer in 28th.
But that's not all. In this tweet, Chris Chavez Swedish Sarah Lahti (20th) may not be able to compete due to injury, and Great Britain and the Netherlands have runners in the top 27 who may not be selected due to injury or because they are not on the British/Dutch national standings. The path to Paris is still to be determined. The qualification period ended on Sunday and the results of the other national championships are still to be determined, but Valby and Schweitzer appear to have done well enough to secure a spot.
Megabytes Here are some thoughts: Road to Paris: Points after the 10,000m Trial Race
QUICKTAKE: Parker Valby wasn't sure he'd be able to run 10,000 meters at the Trials until today
Valby said she was very nervous going into the 5,000 at the Trials, and the stress of coming out on top not only in that race but in almost every other race she'd run this season had taken a toll on her. After finishing fourth in the 5,000, she hadn't planned on running the 10,000, but decided to give it a go.
“You may not realize it, but it takes a lot of effort to lead a race,” Valby said. “Mentally it was pretty exhausting. I didn't come here to get to this point. I didn't want to finish fourth and I knew my strength was probably in the 10km.”
Valby knew she needed to pick up some pace tonight to earn enough ranking points to go to Paris, but left the ranking calculations up to her coach. Intention and Samantha PalmerI was hoping they would let her know if she needed to pick it up during the race to make up some time.
“They definitely know the time. [they were targeting for me] But they knew I was too particular about time, so they weren’t going to tell me the time,” Valby said.
Valby enjoyed not having to lead from the start and showed impressive tenacity in the final straight. Valby hadn't been tested in such a final straight battle this season, and he was up against Schweitzer, who had dominated the 5,000m earlier in the meet. But Valby was able to hold his own against Schweitzer at the end of a long season, and he leaned past him at the finish line. Now, after his best collegiate season ever, Valby is likely to compete in the Olympics at age 21, possibly in two events. El St. Pierre He was on the team for the 1500m but did not compete in the 5000m.
Megabytes Parker and Valby overtake Kalisa for second place in the 10,000m overtime
Breaking News: Carisa Schweitzer could compete in two consecutive Olympics
In 2021, Carisa Schweitzer qualified for the Olympics in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at age 25. Three years later, Schweitzer appears to have qualified in both events again, but the road hasn't been smooth. She had surgery on her right heel to correct a Haglund deformity in 2021, tore her calf in 2022, and had Haglund surgery on her left heel in October 2023. Oh, and she lost two of her best training partners. Elise Clunie and Courtney Frericks At the end of 2023, I left the Bowerman Track Club.
But Schweitzer continued to rehabilitate, worked hard and delivered in two high-pressure qualifying matches this weekend. She grew emotional in the mixed zone as she recalled all she'd endured to qualify for her second Olympic Games.
“It's a huge sigh of relief,” Schweitzer said. “I've put a lot of pressure on myself and worked really hard to get to this moment, and when it finally happened… I can't put it into words.”
QuickTake: Jessica McClain, #4 Again, Six Months Later
McClain placed fourth at the Olympic marathon trials on February 3, Paul Chelimo (10th place in 10km) Natosha Rogers (12th in the 10K) was there to find out just how hard it is to get your body back on the track after the rigors of marathon training. McClain, who gained Brooks sponsorship after a strong performance in the marathon, had not run a U.S. Championship on the track since 2019 and had never finished higher than 8th until tonight.
BREAKING: Amanda Vestri finished 5th in shoes she hadn't even worn until 2 hours before the race
A year ago, Amanda Vestri placed seventh in the NCAA 10,000-meter final for Syracuse University, then eighth at the U.S. Championships. She placed fifth tonight, but she was disappointed with her run, as lowering her PRs from 15:42 and 32:08 to 15:13 and 31:10 over the past year is a sign of progress.
“It wasn't the race I wanted,” Vestri said, “but one day I'll get to kick it with those ladies.”
Vestri trains with the ZAP Endurance Team under the guidance of a coach. Pete Lear But she didn't have a shoe sponsor until two hours before the race, when her agent signed her with Brooks. Josh Cox Vestri quickly pivoted and played in the final wearing a Brooks singlet and cleats that he had never worn before.
“I really like them,” Vestri said. “They're great shoes. They're great shoes. The technology is up to date. I haven't tried their training shoes yet, so I'll wear them to cool down.”
Going forward, Vestri said he plans to remain Ray's coach, but his position as president of ZAP is yet to be determined. Brienne Bell Vestri told Let'sRun that he has the makings of a good marathon runner, and he plans to take the first step by making his half marathon debut this fall.
Keira D'Amato after the race
D'Amato finished in 10th place with a time of 32:25.77.
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Megabytes Here are some thoughts: Road to Paris: Points after the 10,000m Trial Race
Megabytes Parker and Valby overtake Kalisa for second place in the 10,000m overtime
