American Olympian Weini Kelati cemented her legacy in American Thanksgiving Day historical past, profitable the Manchester Highway Race for the fourth consecutive 12 months. With this win, Kelati grew to become the primary girl within the race’s 97-year historical past to realize such a feat, solidifying her dominance over the 7.6-km course in Manchester, Conn.
Fourth Manchester Highway Race title for Weini Kelati đź‘Ź
— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13.bsky.social) November 28, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Kelati has been undefeated on the Manchester Highway Race since turning skilled in 2021. Even on a wet morning, she crossed the end line in 23:14, beating the remainder of the ladies’s elite subject by almost a minute for the second-fastest time within the race’s historical past. She set the course document of twenty-two:55 in 2021.
In a post-race interview with the Hartford Courant, Kelati stated she felt assured however didn’t know what to anticipate, figuring out that this was her first race since ending eighth within the girls’s 10,000m on the Paris Olympics.
Kelati lives and trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., alongside Canadian steeplechaser Regan Yee, below American coach Stephen Haas. Her victory in Manchester marks a robust begin to her 2025 season.
Andrew Colley of Blowing Rock, N.C., pulled off the upset to win the boys’s race in 21:09. Battling the climate, Colley advised the Hartford Courant he was stunned to see how briskly the profitable time was. Mexico’s Eduardo Herrera and Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat, each of Flagstaff, completed second (21:15) and third (21:19), respectively.
The Manchester Highway Race, first held in 1927, is likely one of the oldest and most beloved highway races within the U.S. Identified for its distinctive 4.75-mile distance (7.6 km), it attracts 1000’s of runners yearly. This 12 months, 12,000 members registered, although the climate doubtless deterred some spectators and opponents.
Canadians end eleventh
Canada’s Ben Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., and Erin Teschuk of Winnipeg each positioned eleventh of their respective males’s and girls’s elite fields. Flanagan, who received the race in 2021—changing into the primary Canadian male to take action for the reason that Sixties—missed the rostrum this 12 months. The late Émilie Mondor is the one Canadian girl who has ever received.
For full outcomes from the 2024 Manchester Highway Race, go to right here.