ST. GEORGE — Panguitch native Whittni Orton Morgan qualified for the women’s 5000-meter Olympic final on Friday.
Competing at the Stade de France in Paris, Morgan finished in sixth place in her heat with a season-best time of 15:02.14, less than two seconds off Beatrice Chebet of Kenya’s heat-winning time of 15:00.73.
Each of the two qualifying heats featured 20 runners, with the top eight finishers in each heat qualifying for Monday’s final. The elite field included several of the world’s top middle-distance racers.
Morgan made a strong finish on Friday, covering the final 1,000 meters in just under 2:48, steadily gaining ground as she moved up from 13th place into sixth.
Also on Friday, Morgan’s fellow Team USA runners, Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer, qualified for Monday’s final by taking a respective seventh and eighth in the first heat, which was a faster race overall by about three seconds. Faith Kipyegon, Chebet’s Kenyan teammate, won the first heat in 14:57.56.
Many of Morgan’s supporters, whether they were in Paris, Panguitch, Piute or other places, took to social media to show their support and express their congratulations. Many posted photos of themselves wearing white “Team Whittni” T-shirts.
During her post-race interview, Morgan even gave a shout-out to her home town.
The 26-year-old Morgan, a 2016 graduate of Panguitch High, went on to continue her stellar athletic career at Brigham Young University, including taking first place individually in the 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country championships She turned pro later that year and represents adidas.
Morgan’s path to Paris has been a remarkable one, as she had knee surgery to repair a patellar tendon just last fall. After a few months of rehabilitation, she returned to the track in February and was racing again by April.
Although Morgan placed fifth overall at the U.S. Olympic Trials, two teammates who finished ahead of her (winner Elle St. Pierre and third-place finisher Parker Valby) opted to not run their spots in the 5000m in Paris and instead to focus on other distances, thereby allowing Morgan to move up into with the USA’s third and final 5000m qualifying spot.
Monday’s final is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Utah time.
All Americans are through to the women’s 5,000m final! 🇺🇸
Whittni Morgan ran to a strong season best of 15:02.14 to secure her spot in the final with a sixth-place finish in the final heat of the first round.
Beatrice Chebet 🇰🇪 looked smooth as she won the final section in… pic.twitter.com/JxZAjurw7I
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 2, 2024
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