How Keira DAmato Set the American Marathon Record World Athletics Championships How to Watch the 2023 World Track Championships.
Sara Hall led the trio, finishing in fifth place in 2:22:10, overtaking Angela Tanui of Kenya within a kilometer of the finish.
Emma Bates was seventh in 2:23:18, more than a minute faster than her previous best.
And Keira D’Amato, Legend! Lyles Adds 200 Win to 100 Title Sarah Lorge Butler—Other Hearst Subscriptions Molly Seidel—DAmato wasnt dwelling on what could have been with more training.
Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia won in 2:18:11, Judith Korir of Kenya took silver in 2:18:18, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel won the bronze medal in 2:20:18.
While the Americans didn’t add to their country’s lofty medal total at these championships—the U.S. currently has 14 medals, and Ethiopia is in second place with four—it was the best three-person showing of any country in the race.
The women, who seem to genuinely like one another, talked about working together before the race. Although D’Amato went with the leaders at the start and got out a little too fast for the others’ liking, she drifted back to her compatriots around 10K, and they then worked together until about 15 miles into the race.
Sarah Lorge Butler.
They had an emotional reunion just past the finish line, Hall and Bates raising their arms as D’Amato crossed.
Hall had a healthy buildup, and she entered as fit as she’s ever been.
“I feel like this is the best my body’s ever absorbed the training,” she said. “I have never felt this good in a marathon, I don’t think. I’m 39 and my body is handling this better than it ever has.”
For Bates and D’Amato, the buildup was not as smooth. Bates, who lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, with a group of track athletes, struggled with her second bout of COVID-19 in December, and she felt excessively fatigued during training. She didn’t start to come around until about 12 weeks ago, which had her “freaking out,” she said.
“It was not as bad as my teammate Kate Grace [who has had debilitating long COVID symptoms], it didn’t pull me out of training, but I was just so tired the entire time,” she said. “It was four, four and a half months until I felt like myself again.”
Her training advanced enough that her coach, Joe Bosshard, instructed her to go out for the first half in about 1:10. She did, running 1:10:17. Her official half marathon PR is 1:11:13 from 2019.
D’Amato, meanwhile, had been focusing on shorter road races this summer when she got the call for Worlds. She had only two weeks to prepare. Knowing she couldn’t cram for a marathon, she did one We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back two weeks ago and then ran easily for the next two weeks. She didn’t have time to practice taking in fluids or doing long runs the way she typically does before a marathon—and as she did before she set the American record in January in Houston.
“I definitely was humbled by this, I think the short marathon build is not the way to go,” she told reporters after the race. “I really think I could have used another month or two to build up, with long runs. Like that last lap, I just had a really hard time like locking in and digging.”
D’Amato wasn’t dwelling on what could have been with more training.
“Eighth? I mean, top 10 in the world?,” she said. “I’ll take it. I’ll take it.”
Must-See Races At Worlds.
—race only two weeks ago.
Nutrition - Weight Loss is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
