2017 Payton Jordan InvitationalMay 3, 2017 by Johanna Gretschel
U.S. Olympians Kim Conley, Amy Cragg To Battle In Payton 10K
U.S. Olympians Kim Conley, Amy Cragg To Battle In Payton 10K
Preview of the women's 10K at the 2017 Payton Jordan Invitational, which begins at 4 PM Pacific Time on Friday, May 5.
The 2017 Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford is live on FloTrack on Friday, May 5, beginning at 4 PM Pacific Time, and we can't wait. We've already previewed the women's 800, women's 1500, women's 5K, men's 800, men's 1500, men's 5K, and men's 10K.
Worlds standard: 32:15.0
USAs standard: 32:25.0
Who: Emily Infeld, Kim Conley, Amy Cragg, Emily Sisson, Rochelle Kanuho, Veronica Nyaruai Wanjiru, Gotytom Gebreslase, Ayuko Suzuki, Meraf Bahta, Sarah Lahti, Yuka Takashima, Hanami Sekine, Alice Wright, Emma Bates, Elvin Kibet
When: 9:28 PM PT (Heat 1)
Why: 2016 U.S. Olympians Amy Cragg and Kim Conley headline the fast section of the women's 10K at Payton Jordan, which also features a roster of international Olympians and rising American talent. Cragg, the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon champion, owns the fastest PB of 31:10.69, which she ran for 11th place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
2015 World Championships 10K bronze medalist Emily Infeld (31:26.94 PB) will pace.
Conley has some unfinished business in the 10K. The NorCal Distance Project co-founder won the U.S. Outdoor Championships and set her PB of 31:48.71 in 2014, but missed the 2015 season due to injury. The longer event was supposed to be her main focus for the Olympic Trials last year, but she was clipped and her shoe fell off early in the race. She dropped out and turned her attention to the 5K, where she scrapped to a hard-fought third-place finish to make her second Olympic team. In Rio, like in London, she did not advance beyond the preliminary round. A highly publicized marathon debut in New York City fell short of expectations, as the two-time Olympian ran 2:41:38 for 16th in the field. Conley needs the 10K standard for USAs and Worlds, but the 31-year-old also needs a strong outdoor debut to gain momentum to make her first World track team since 2013.
​Two-time Olympian Kim Conley won the 2013 Payton Jordan Invitational 5K:
After making the 10K Olympic team in 2012, Cragg (formerly Hastings) moved up to the marathon in 2016. The transition went swimmingly as she won the U.S. Olympic Trials in February and placed ninth in the world in Rio. But her track days aren't necessarily behind her, as the now 33-year-old set a road PB for 10K last June in 31:31. This year, she's raced two half marathons: a stellar 68:27 at the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon in Japan to chop 90 seconds off her PB in February and 69:38 for fifth at the New York City Half Marathon in March.
Three spots and 77 seconds ahead of Cragg in New York was Emily Sisson, the 25-year-old Missourian who trains with American-record holder Molly Huddle. The Providence alumna finished just two seconds behind her training partner in her debut half marathon in New York; Sisson's 68:27 debut makes her the fifth-fastest all-time American. She was 10th at the Olympic Trials 10K one year ago in Eugene, OR, but her PB of 31:38.03 dates back to 2015. After rounding into form with Huddle, Sisson is likely hungry to make her first senior-level world team for the United States, and Payton Jordan will be a strong test effort to see how she matches up with three of the most consistent American pros on the distance scene.
​Emily Sisson is ready for a breakout 10K after setting her PB as a Providence senior at Payton Jordan in 2015:
Of course, the Americans will have plenty of competition from the international field assembled in Palo Alto, CA.
Twenty-two-year-old Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia ran 31:14.52 for 10K last year on the track in Hengelo. The Japanese trio of Ayuko Suzuki, the defending national champion for 10K; Hanami Sekine; and Yuka Takashima have all run between 31:35 and 31:18 for 10K. The Japanese national record of 30:48, set by Yoko Shibui at the 2002 Payton Jordan Invitational, is certainly in danger.
The Swedish national record is also in danger. Sarah Lahti, 22, set the record several times last year, first at Payton Jordan in 31:54 and then with a 31:28.43, 12th-place run in Rio. She's already had a record year in 2017, running 69:58 to set an all-time national mark in the half marathon in New York. She'll have to contend with countrywoman Meraf Bahta, who has just run one 10K in her life -- a 33:11.45 win last year -- but owns national records in the 5K (14:49.95), 3K (8:43.0), and 1500m (4:05.11). The 27-year-old Eritrean native is the 2014 European champion for 5K; last year, she was runner-up in the 5K at the European Championships and placed sixth in the 1500m final at the Rio Olympic Games. Clearly, she has the pedigree to add another record to her collection.
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Video footage from the competition will be archived and stored in a video library for FloPRO subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.
Women's 10K
Worlds standard: 32:15.0
USAs standard: 32:25.0
Who: Emily Infeld, Kim Conley, Amy Cragg, Emily Sisson, Rochelle Kanuho, Veronica Nyaruai Wanjiru, Gotytom Gebreslase, Ayuko Suzuki, Meraf Bahta, Sarah Lahti, Yuka Takashima, Hanami Sekine, Alice Wright, Emma Bates, Elvin Kibet
When: 9:28 PM PT (Heat 1)
Why: 2016 U.S. Olympians Amy Cragg and Kim Conley headline the fast section of the women's 10K at Payton Jordan, which also features a roster of international Olympians and rising American talent. Cragg, the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon champion, owns the fastest PB of 31:10.69, which she ran for 11th place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
2015 World Championships 10K bronze medalist Emily Infeld (31:26.94 PB) will pace.
Conley has some unfinished business in the 10K. The NorCal Distance Project co-founder won the U.S. Outdoor Championships and set her PB of 31:48.71 in 2014, but missed the 2015 season due to injury. The longer event was supposed to be her main focus for the Olympic Trials last year, but she was clipped and her shoe fell off early in the race. She dropped out and turned her attention to the 5K, where she scrapped to a hard-fought third-place finish to make her second Olympic team. In Rio, like in London, she did not advance beyond the preliminary round. A highly publicized marathon debut in New York City fell short of expectations, as the two-time Olympian ran 2:41:38 for 16th in the field. Conley needs the 10K standard for USAs and Worlds, but the 31-year-old also needs a strong outdoor debut to gain momentum to make her first World track team since 2013.
​Two-time Olympian Kim Conley won the 2013 Payton Jordan Invitational 5K:
After making the 10K Olympic team in 2012, Cragg (formerly Hastings) moved up to the marathon in 2016. The transition went swimmingly as she won the U.S. Olympic Trials in February and placed ninth in the world in Rio. But her track days aren't necessarily behind her, as the now 33-year-old set a road PB for 10K last June in 31:31. This year, she's raced two half marathons: a stellar 68:27 at the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon in Japan to chop 90 seconds off her PB in February and 69:38 for fifth at the New York City Half Marathon in March.
Three spots and 77 seconds ahead of Cragg in New York was Emily Sisson, the 25-year-old Missourian who trains with American-record holder Molly Huddle. The Providence alumna finished just two seconds behind her training partner in her debut half marathon in New York; Sisson's 68:27 debut makes her the fifth-fastest all-time American. She was 10th at the Olympic Trials 10K one year ago in Eugene, OR, but her PB of 31:38.03 dates back to 2015. After rounding into form with Huddle, Sisson is likely hungry to make her first senior-level world team for the United States, and Payton Jordan will be a strong test effort to see how she matches up with three of the most consistent American pros on the distance scene.
​Emily Sisson is ready for a breakout 10K after setting her PB as a Providence senior at Payton Jordan in 2015:
Of course, the Americans will have plenty of competition from the international field assembled in Palo Alto, CA.
Twenty-two-year-old Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia ran 31:14.52 for 10K last year on the track in Hengelo. The Japanese trio of Ayuko Suzuki, the defending national champion for 10K; Hanami Sekine; and Yuka Takashima have all run between 31:35 and 31:18 for 10K. The Japanese national record of 30:48, set by Yoko Shibui at the 2002 Payton Jordan Invitational, is certainly in danger.
The Swedish national record is also in danger. Sarah Lahti, 22, set the record several times last year, first at Payton Jordan in 31:54 and then with a 31:28.43, 12th-place run in Rio. She's already had a record year in 2017, running 69:58 to set an all-time national mark in the half marathon in New York. She'll have to contend with countrywoman Meraf Bahta, who has just run one 10K in her life -- a 33:11.45 win last year -- but owns national records in the 5K (14:49.95), 3K (8:43.0), and 1500m (4:05.11). The 27-year-old Eritrean native is the 2014 European champion for 5K; last year, she was runner-up in the 5K at the European Championships and placed sixth in the 1500m final at the Rio Olympic Games. Clearly, she has the pedigree to add another record to her collection.
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Archived Competition Footage
Video footage from the competition will be archived and stored in a video library for FloPRO subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.