Just three months after obliterating the previous collegiate record in the women’s 5,000 meters, Parker Valby lowered the time yet again on collegiate athletics’ biggest stage.
After the race, Valby 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the University of Florida junior won the final in 14:52.79, demolishing the competition at The Track at New Balance in Boston.
All About the 2024 London Marathon 2023 Other Hearst Subscriptions in November, controlled the race from the beginning. With Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe on her heels, Valby led the field through the first 1600 meters in 4:49.76. Still early in the competition, only Roe dared to follow the quick pace established by the three-time NCAA champion.
Already with a 50-meter lead on the rest of the field, Valby looked like she was enjoying herself and even gave a thumbs up to her Gator teammate Claire Bryant, who was competing in the long jump on the inside of the track. “I’m like a ping pong ball, my brain is like, here, there and everywhere at the same time,” Valby told reporters. “I’m running the race, but I’m watching my teammates do well at the same time.”
After blasting through 3,000 meters in 9:03.88, Valby made a decisive move with six laps remaining and Roe wasn’t able to respond. Once Valby broke away, there was no stopping her. With a blazing 4:37 last mile, no one could touch the speed she displayed in the last stages of the race.
On the homestretch, Valby cruised into the finish line almost 23 seconds ahead of Roe, who placed second in 15:15.01. The Alabama duo of Hilda Olemomoi and Doris Lemngole finished third and fourth in 15:17.27 and 15:17.43, respectively. Including Valby, six athletes set new personal bests in the 5,000 meters on Friday night.
Results and Highlights from the Tokyo Marathon told reporters that her goal was to win, and the record was an added bonus. When asked if the record was easy, Valby said, “Honestly, on a scale of one to 10, it was like a six or seven. I wouldn’t say it was ‘easy,’ like I wasn’t jogging in the park.”
Valby’s latest breakthrough puts an exclamation point on a season that started with a record in her first ever indoor 5,000-meter race last December. Just two weeks after winning the NCAA cross-country title, she became the first college woman in history to break the 15-minute barrier. At the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Best Fitness Trackers, shattering the previous record of 15:12.22 set by Emily Sisson in 2015. Her time also beat the previous all-time collegiate best (indoor and outdoor track) set by Jenny Simpson in 2009, 15:01.70.
Valby is also scheduled to race the 3,000 meters at the NCAA championships on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
