Alicia Monson, Karissa Schweizer, and Natosha Rogers claimed spots on Team USATF for the WCH Oregon22 at the Pre Classic (© WCH Oregon22)
The United States 10,000m teams for the first World Athletics Championships on U.S. soil looks a lot like last year’s U.S. contingent to the Tokyo Olympics.
Karissa Schweizer outsprinted Alicia Monson to win the women’s 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday night at the reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, which will host the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on July 15-24.
Friday’s Distance Night at the Pre Classic featured the U.S. Championships for the men’s and women’s 10,000m with the top three finishers in each race earning a repeat trip to Hayward Field in July for WCH Oregon22.
Schweizer and Monson, who both ran in the Tokyo Olympics last summer, dominated the women’s race. Schweizer won in 30 minutes, 49.56 seconds with Monson second in 30:51.09 for a big personal best. Natosha Rogers was third in 31:29.80 as the former Texas A&M standout made her first global outdoor championship team.
On the men’s side, two Tokyo Olympians, Joe Klecker and Grant Fisher, took the top two spots. Klecker, who was 16th in last year’s 10,000m in Tokyo, pulled the upset, winning in 28:28.71. Fisher, who set the American record of 26:33.84 earlier this year, and was fifth in Tokyo, placed second in 28:28.81. Sean McGorty was third in 28:29.57.
And for the first time, these distance runners won’t have to travel overseas for the World Athletics Championships. For Schweizer, Fisher, and McGorty, who run for the Bowerman Track Club in Portland, it will be an easy commute to the biggest meet ever on U.S. soil.
“Just coming back basically to having a homefield feeling to it,” Schweizer said. “Being in Oregon, it’s just going to be really exciting to have the world champs on U.S. soil.”
Schweizer was favored in Friday’s race despite having Achilles surgery in October that required her to spend two weeks without putting any weight on her foot and then spend six weeks in a walking boot.
“So many doubts and uncertainties and I was really nervous,” Schweizer said, “but I’m just so excited that I was able to have that surgery and come back so quickly. Being able to run pain free has been amazing. I was dealing with a lot of pain last year, and excited to see what I can do this year being pain free.”
She certainly looked like the runner who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 5,000m (11th place) and the 10,000m (12th place last year). Schweizer and Monson broke away from the field early on and spent most of the last half of the race running alone up front. Schweizer then sprinted past Monson over the final 200m to take the win. Schweizer was just off her personal best of 30:47.99.
Monson had no complaints about finishing second as she smashed her previous personal best of 31:10.84 by almost 20 seconds.
“I feel like I have so much more confidence in what I’m doing," said Monson, who was 13th in the 10,000m at Tokyo, and seventh in the 3,000m in the indoor World Athletics Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, in March. “I came into this 10K in such a different spot compared to last year going into the Olympic Trials.
“I know I can put myself up there in a race, lead the race and be ready for a good finish. And then having that experience in Tokyo, suddenly you're running with all the best people in the world, you’re like 20 people deep, and you’re running so fast. It was a good experience, and I got a lot of good international experience in the Diamond League last year, then in Serbia this year and now I’m looking forward to another worlds.”
Having the World Athletics Championships in Oregon is a huge boost for all American runners, Monson said.
“I’m so excited for that, to be on U.S. soil is really cool and I think that we’ve got a great team going,” Monson said. “We’re ready to get some great training and racing in. The fact that we don’t have to recover from a 10K within three weeks between U.S. and worlds, we got it done early, is really good because that puts in a good position to compete actually at worlds.”
Klecker said seeing Monson, his On Athletics teammate, earn a spot in WCH Oregon22, gave him a big confidence boost entering the men’s race in which about eight runners were bunched together with 800 meters to go.
Klecker, who is 25 and a former Colorado University standout, outsprinted Fisher, and a host of others for his first U.S. national title.
“There’s good fans out there tonight, not just good fans but fans that know the sport,” Klecker said. “You tell them 26:33, and they know that’s Grant’s American record. They know track and field, so it’s really fun to run here.”
And it will be even more fun in July.
“I don’t take that for granted,” Klecker said. “To be able to do that here at Hayward, in the new stadium with the whole world coming here. So, I think as a U.S. athlete, you’ve got to really perform. You always want to do good on the world stage, but being at home, you have a little extra pressure on you.”
Klecker said he was proud of Fisher’s fifth-place finish in Tokyo in the 10,000m last year but feels he has a lot to atone for after placing 16th in his first Olympics.
“If I didn’t make the world team, I don’t want to say a failure of the year, but that was the goal this year and if I didn’t make it,” Klecker said, “I would really have to reassess what I was doing the rest of the summer and I didn’t want to let that happen.
“Going into World Championships, I learned a lot from the Olympics last year. I really did not put myself up in the race, I didn’t really give myself a shot. I finished 16th, I wasn’t really happy with that, and so I plan to be a lot more aggressive this year."
Tickets are still available for most sessions of the WCH Oregon 22 and can be purchased here. For a complete schedule of events, go here.
By Ashley Conklin
