Rupp, Sisson Bring Olympic Flavor to the USATF 15 km Championships

USATF Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Olympians Galen Rupp and Emily Sisson return to the roads Saturday morning at the USATF 15 km Championships presented by Toyota, as the nation’s top distance runners square off on the streets of Jacksonville, Florida.

The USATF 15 km Championships are the second stop on the 2022 USATF Running Circuit. The event will be streamed live on USATF.TV beginning at 7:45am ET with fans having access to both the live event and on demand races with a +PLUS subscription. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.

As the gun sounds Saturday morning, all eyes will be on Rupp. One of the best distance runners in U.S. history, the veteran seems poised to continue to cement his status atop of American distance running hierarchy. 2021 saw Rupp place eighth in the marathon at the Olympic Games, only to come back two months later to finish second overall at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:06:35, just off his personal best in the distance of 2:06:07 set in 2018.

While Rupp has never competed over the 15 km distance, it’s not out of the question to see him potentially challenge the American Record of 42:22 set by Todd Williams in 1995.

Rupp won’t be alone up front in Jacksonville, however, as the men’s field is loaded with Olympic and national championship talent. The Olympic trio of Leonard Korir, Hillary Bor, and Jacob Riley are all entered and are ready to challenge for the win. 

Korir enters coming off a fourth place effort at the USATF Cross Country Championships earlier in the season. Korir won the USATF 15 km title in both 2017 and 2018, while placing second in 2019. His experience on the course in Jacksonville should serve him well. 

Bor, who won the USATF title at the Olympic Trials last summer, is already off and running this season. The seasoned pro ran 13:10.98 for 5000m in Boston last month and looks to build off his strong 2021 season. Meanwhile, Riley looks to build off his top-30 finish in Tokyo at the Olympic Games and show he’s even stronger in 2022.

Not to be overlooked, defending champion Clayton Young is in the field. Young outkicked the field last year to claim his first USATF title, one that would lead him to a third place finish in the overall standings of the USATF Running Circuit. Young earned four top five finishes on the USATF Running Circuit in 2021 and should vie for victory again on Saturday.

While Young placed third in the 2021 overall standings, Abbabiya Simbassa won the overall circuit title with ease, dominating the USATF Running Circuit all season long. Simbassa won the USATF 10 Mile and 25 km titles, while placing second at the USATF 15 km and 20 km Championships. Not only that, but Simbassa finished second overall at the USATF 15 km Championships in both 2020 and 2021, so he’s certainly eyeing finishing one spot higher this time around in Jacksonville.

Other notable contenders Saturday in the men’s field are Futsum Zienasellassie, who placed second at the USATF 25 km Championships last year and placed ninth at the USATF Cross Country Championships more recently, Colin Bennie and John Raneri, who placed sixth and tenth at the 2021 USATF 15 km Championships, steeplechase standout Stanley Kebeni, 2012 Olympian Diego Estrada, and USATF Running Circuit veteran Kiya Dandena.

Headlining the women’s race, Sisson steps back on the start line in Jacksonville seeking to repeat her victorious effort from 2021. After winning last year’s event by over a minute in 48:09, it does not seem out of the realm of possibility that Sisson could attack the American 15 km record of 47:00 set by Shalane Flanagan in 2014. 

Sisson is coming off a tenth place finish in Tokyo at the Olympic Games, which concluded a season where she won the USATF 10,000m title and set a new 5000m best of 14:53.84.

The Providence-based frontrunner will find plenty of challengers in Jacksonville, led by Emily Infeld and Emily Durgin. The duo placed third and fourth at the USATF Cross Country Championships earlier this season and both have experience on the course in Jacksonville. Infeld took home a runner-up finish in 2017, while Durgin placed third in 2021. 

After placing third overall in the USATF Running Circuit standings last season, Durgin seems poised for another big season on the roads, especially after kicking off her 2022 campaign by placing sixth overall at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January, finishing in 1:07:54, which ranks her as the sixth fastest American of all-time over the distance.

Behind the lead trio, a number of other road veterans are ready to challenge for top three finishes. Marathon standouts Nell Rojas and Annie Frisbie placed ninth and tenth at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January in 1:09:42 and 1:10:27. 

Rojas is coming off an incredible 2021 campaign, which saw her win the USATF 10 Mile Championship title, as well as run a new marathon best of 2:27:12 while finishing sixth at the Boston Marathon in October. Frisbie ran a new marathon best in 2021, too, placing seventh overall at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2:26:18.

Top returnees Sarah Pagano and Diane Nukuri add even more talent to the top of the field in Jacksonville, as the two USATF Running Circuit veterans seek top five finishes. Pagano placed ninth at last year’s USATF 15 km Championships, while Nukuri placed tenth.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners. A total of $49,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 15 km Championships

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 15 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush