Kelati, who trains at the UA Mission Run Dark Sky Distance in Flagstaff, won the women's 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials in Oregon.
EUGENE, Ore. — It's been an incredible journey. Weini Kelati.
The Eritrean-born Kelati was 17 years old in 2014 when she deliberately missed her flight after competing in the World Junior Championships and defected to the United States.
Now, 10 years later, Kelati is a U.S. citizen and will compete for the red, white and blue (and Arizona) at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the women's 10,000 meters. U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
After applying for asylum in the United States, Kelati moved to live with relatives in Leesburg, Virginia, and began running cross country and track at Heritage High School.
Just one year later, Kelati won the Virginia State Cross Country Championship and the national championship at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, while also winning the state track and field title in the 3,200 meters.
Kelati then moved across the country to attend the University of New Mexico, where she won both the cross country and 10,000 meter national championships in 2019.
She turned professional in December 2020 and, a year and a half later, on June 23, 2021, she became an American citizen, deciding to represent the United States in international competitions instead of her native Eritrea.
Kelati competed in the 10,000 meters at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials (postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic) but had to withdraw after running the 7,000 meters.
Since then, Kelati, who is currently training, UA Mission Run Dark Sky Distance The Flagstaff native has developed into one of the nation's top distance runners, setting the American half marathon record in January 2024 with a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 25 seconds at the Houston Half Marathon.
Kelati won the women's 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trail Championship in a time of 31:41.07, nearly half a second ahead of runner-up Parker Valby (31:41.553) and third-place finisher Carisa Schweitzer (31:41.557), earning her a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics and allowing her to add the title “Olympian” to her resume.
This will be Kelati's first time competing in the Olympics.
The women's 10,000m final will be held on August 9 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.
Arizona Sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams: the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, and the MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals play at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, while the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and Mercuries. The Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix is also home to a USL soccer team, the Phoenix Rising FC, which plays at the Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts several major sporting events each year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl, the WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour's most attended event, NASCAR events held each spring and fall (including Championship Weekend in November), and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball teams.
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