Weini Kelati claims stunning 10,000m victory at US trials to qualify for Paris 2024: “I knew I was going to do it”
USA’s Weini Kelati secured a quota spot for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a superb win in the women’s 10,000m at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track and Field.
The long-distance runner won Saturday’s (29 June) final in Eugene, Oregon, with a time of 31:41.07, just half a second ahead of Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer who completed the podium.
Speaking after her triumph at Hayward Field (as per the Washington Post), Kelati said, “I was thinking about winning the race, no matter how hard it’s going to be. I knew I was going to do it. At the same time, I felt like I was in disbelief.”
A dramatic women’s 10,000m final was decided in the final lap, with Kelati, Valby and Schweizer all neck-and-neck pushing for the win.
It was Schweizer who led on the final corner, but a fantastic late surge from Kelati secured the victory, followed by Valby who snuck into second place on the final 50 metres.
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
“It’s an honour every time I go out and put the USA gear on,” Kelati, who used to represent her birth country, Eritrea, continued. “I feel like I’m going to be out there and have the best race of my life.” Of her Eritrean community, she said, “They’re watching. Every time I race, wherever I go, they follow me. They’re going to see me in Paris, too.”