EUGENE, Ore. — It has been an incredible journey for Weini Kelati.
In 2014, when she was just 17 years old, Kelati, who is originally from the country of Eritrea, intentionally missed a flight after competing in the World Junior Championships and claimed asylum in the United States.
Now, 10 years later, Kelati is a naturalized US citizen and will represent the Red, White and Blue (and Arizona) in the 2024 Olympics in Paris after winning the women's 10,000 meters at the US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.
After claiming asylum in the US, Kelati went to live with a relative in Leesburg, Virginia, and began running cross country and track at Heritage High School.
Just one year later, Kelati won the Virginia State Cross Country Championship and a national championship at the Footlocker Cross Country Championship. She also won a state track title in the 3,200 meters.
Kelati then moved across the country to run for the University of New Mexico and won both a cross country national championship and the 10,000-meters national championship in 2019.
She turned pro in December 2020 and a year and a half later, on June 23, 2021, Kelati became a naturalized US citizen and decided to represent the US in international competitions instead of her native Eritrea.
Kelati participated in the 10,000 meters at the 2020 US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials (which were postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic) but had to drop out of the race after 7,000 meters.
Since then, Kelati, who now trains with UA Mission Run Dark Sky Distance in Flagstaff, has developed into one of the top distance runners in the United States and even set an American record in the half marathon when she ran it in 1:06:25 at the Houston Half Marathon in January 2024.
Now, Kelati will be able to add "Olympian" to her resume, as she clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympics in Paris by winning the women's 10,000 meters at the US Olympic Trails with a time of 31:41.07, nearly half a second ahead of Parker Valby (31:41.553) and Karissa Schweizer (31:41.557), who finished second and third, respectively.
This will be Kelati's first trip to the Olympics.
The women's 10,000-meter final will be held on August 9 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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