Alum Makes Olympic Team
MALINDI ELMORE, Stanford class of '02, was named to the Canadian Olympic team in the women's marathon on Friday, becoming the third Stanford track and field alum to clinch a berth in Tokyo.
Elmore, 41, was a 2004 Olympian, running the 1,500 in Athens, and retired in 2012. She returned to competitive running in 2019 as a marathoner and set the Canadian record in 2000, running 2:24:50 in only her second marathon. The time, from the Houston Marathon, bettered the Olympic standard of 2:29:30 and came during the qualifying window, making Elmore an easy choice for Tokyo.
At Stanford, Elmore was a five-time All-American, earning honors in cross country, three times in indoor track, and once in outdoor track. She won a conference title in the mile at the 2003 Mountain Pacific Indoor Federation indoor championships and closed her collegiate career with an eighth-place finish in the 1,500 at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento. She ranks No. 6 on Stanford's outdoor performers' list in the 1,500 (4:10.42) and No. 7 in the 800 (2:04.35).
The native of Kelowna, British Columbia, joins 2016 Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi '12, a pole vaulter from Greece, and U.S. marathoner Jacob Riley '11 as alums assured of Olympic spots in 2021.
Other alums in contention for Tokyo include seven who have achieved Olympic standards, all from the U.S.: Valarie Allman '17 (women's discus), Kori Carter '14 (women's 400 hurdles), Elise Cranny (women's 1,500, 5,000, 10,000), Grant Fisher '19 (men's 5,000, 10,000), Vanessa Fraser '17 (women's 5,000), Sean McGorty '17 (men's 3,000 steeplechase, 5,000), and Harrison Williams '18 (men's decathlon).
This will be the first Olympics in which world rankings play a factor. Alums who could reach Tokyo on that basis include Olivia Baker '18 (U.S., women's 800), Mackenzie Little '19 (Australia, women's javelin), and Steven Solomon '16 (Australia, men's 400, 4x400 relay).
The qualifying window for Olympic standards and world rankings closes on June 29. The U.S. Olympic trials are June 18-27 in Eugene, Oregon.
Photo by David Gonzales.