Weini Kelati – I Just Like to Push Myself

Carrie chats with Weini Kelati! They talk all about her recent USATF road 5K championship victory, coming to the US from Eritrea, winning the Footlocker championships, winning the NCAA championship at the University of New Mexico, signing a pro contract with Dark Sky Distance, and so much more!

Recorded December 3, 2021
Photo courtesy of Kevin Morris

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Weini Kelati

Bio courtesy of Wikipedia
Weini Kelati Frezghi is an Eritrean-American long-distance runner.

She attended Heritage High School in Virginia and competed in cross country and track and field. She was the 2015 winner of Footlocker XC. 2015 Virginia state champion in cross country and 2016 outdoor 3200 m. Won 2016 New Balance Indoor Nationals 5000 m and 2 mile.

She won the 10,000 m at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships and won the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. She was named the Honda Sports Award recipient for cross country that year. She forgoed the remainder of her collegiate eligibility and signed a professional contract in November of 2020 with Under Armour’s elite team, Dark Sky Distance.

On 5 December 2020, she ran a 10,000 m race and qualified by Entry standard for the 2020 Summer Games, with a personal best time of 31:10.08, also an Eritrean national record – at JSerra Catholic HS, in San Juan Capistrano. But for her first participation to US Trials in Eugene, a few days after becoming American, she did not finish the 10,000 m.

On 16 October 2021, she set the American 10K record for a women’s-only race at the Boston 10K for Women in 31:18. She broke the meet record at the Manchester Road Race in 2021.

Show Notes:

Weini Kelati on Instagram

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