Karissa Schweitzer made her move with 200 meters to go to win the women’s 10,000 meters. Photo by Chloe Montague
Bowerman Track Club runner Karissa Schweizer won her first U.S. national title at in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30 minutes, 49.56 seconds seven months after having Achilles surgery.
Schweizer had initially planned to stick with Alicia Monson, who took the lead early, for as long as possible. After following tightly behind her for the majority of the race, Schweizer made a move to gain the lead in the last 200 meters. The two athletes battled in the 100-meter stretch for the finish line. Schweizer finished a second and a half ahead of Monson’s time of 30:51.09.
“I had confidence in my kick, but definitely made it difficult,” Schweizer said.
Last season, Schweizer could not fully utilize her potential due to her Achilles injury. She had some doubts coming in after her surgery last fall during the offseason. The initial time frame for her recovery was two weeks non weight bearing, and then six weeks in a boot. After she no longer needed the boot, she was slow walking and running.
“I was really nervous, but I’m just so excited I was able to have that surgery and came back so quickly,” Schweizer said
“Being able to run pain-free has been just amazing. I was dealing with a lot of pain last year so I’m excited to see what I can do this year,” Schweizer said.
Schweizer feels that every week has just been getting “better and better,” and she hopes her fitness can peak at the World Athletics Championships, which are at Hayward Field in July.
Schweizer said she is looking forward to coming back to the “home field feeling.”
“It definitely feels relaxing. It nice to have that done with and to be able to focus on training,” Schweizer said.
Schweizer was excited to see where this achievement would lead her during the rest of the season. She said she didn’t know she was in “that good of shape” until this win.
The third-place finisher was Natosha Rogers, who crossed the finish line at 31:29.80. Rogers, Monson and Schweizer all qualified for worlds and will race again in July.
