Look at her high school profile on athletic.net. When we talk humble beginnings, we are talking HUMBLE. It's crazy she was able to blossom in college let alone make an Olympic team.
I am someone who thinks many are suspicious, but I don't think that's the case with her.
If you look at her D2 college times, they dropped dramatically. And a marathon is a totally different even than a 5K. It's plausible to me that she was a totally untapped talent on a small team that probably ran to a friends house, hung out for 30, splashed some water on their faces to look sweaty, and ran back. No way a D2 athlete running a 5:40 mile would get into drugs to drop her times. I just think this talent was always there just never really realized in high school as a phenom.
Great story, massive respect for her accomplishment. She (and her coach and agent) chose to race the marathon close to home at Grandma's, learning how to compete to win twice there. That probably served her well in the late miles with accomplished luminaries like Hall, Rotich, and Saina hanging around her. She kept her cool and prevailed. Lundstrom is a fine coach and it's wonderful to see someone out of his group get on a team.
It was a great day for Minnesota Distance Elite head coach Chris Lindstrum as he guided two women top 10 finishes in the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials in O...
her highest finish at footlocker nationals was 10th. Dakotah beat her today.
Dakotah (5:40/12:32) started her track career running 6:26 in the mile. She ran 23:00 5Ks. She finished 335th at the Roy Griak Invite in 2011, a race that saw Karissa Schweitzer finish 6th.
For her senior year, she finished 187th, cutting her time by a minute, and closing the gap on her fellow Olympian, Karissa considerably as Karissa finished 11th.
She was the second runner on her team as a senior, and her highest placing was 8th.
This is what used to make Olympics watching fun. Against all odds underdog making it. She put in the work. During the broadcast, they said she came down to Orlando to train to get used to the heat. Little things matter. When you want something so bad, you have to work for it.
People don’t want to hear this but she is not a great runner. When you still have 2 miles to go when the world’s best woman runner finishes then you are a mediocre elite runner. But give her credit for making the most of her opportunities.
Well most of you are not very bright or you cannot handle the truth. Dakotah, based on her resume, probably couldn’t pace the female marathon world record holder for more than 2 miles or so. So think about a man that could only do that. The man would not be elite. The truth hurts.
People don’t want to hear this but she is not a great runner. When you still have 2 miles to go when the world’s best woman runner finishes then you are a mediocre elite runner. But give her credit for making the most of her opportunities.
She beat Sarah Hall and Betsy Saina and Kiera D'Amato, are they great runners. I don't think even Dakota would say she's a better runner than them, but today she was. After all, this is the olympic trials marathon - it's a race. You don't submit a resume' for review.
Think about an elite male who couldn’t pace the men’s marathon record holder for more than about 2 miles. Embarrassing. But it is not Dakotah’s fault. It is just bizarre.
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