An American record was set on Sunday by a Chula Vista resident for being the women’s winner of the USATF 35K Race Walk Championships.
Rio Olympian Miranda Melville, 32, set a record at the 35-kilometer (21.75 miles)distance walk, clocking in at three hours and 18 seconds. This breaks the previous record set by Katie Burnett, who completed the track at three hours and 48 seconds five years prior.
The event took place on the Riverview Parkway and Town Center parkway adjacent to the Trolley Square Mall.
The Olympian was in the lead at the 5k mark by 20 seconds. She was nearly one minute ahead of the nearest challenger by the 10K mark, reaching a time of 50 minutes, 42 seconds.
By the 20K mark, Melville was in the lead by 2 minutes and 24 seconds.
The nearest competitor was Stephanie Casey of Portland, Oregon, clocking in at three hours, one minute, and 55 seconds. Maria Michta-Coffey of Lake Grove, New York, completed the course in third place at three hours, seven minutes, and 31 seconds.
Nick Christie of El Cajon took home the men's title after completing 35K in two hours, 48 minutes, and 48 seconds. Daniel Nehnevaj of Beckley, West Virginia came in at two hours, 59 minutes, and 21 seconds as second place, and Bricyn Healey of Madison, Wisconsin third in three hours, five minutes, and 13 seconds.
Both Melville and Christie won $8,000. The 35K race served as a qualifier for the 2022 World Athletics Race Walk Team Championships and the 2022 World Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Casey and Nehnevaj received $6,000 for their second-place finishes and Michta-Coffey, and Healey $4,000 for finishing third.
The $50,000 purse was called the largest for any race or endurance event in the San Diego area. Sunday’s event was the ninth consecutive year, and 12th time in 14 years the championships have been held in Santee.
The 2022 World Track & Field Championships will take place from July 15 through July 25. More than 2,000 athletes from over 190 countries will compete. "Special commemorative prices" will honor world records achieved by American athletes at World Championships throughout history on July 22, according to a press release. The event’s finals will be the women’s 400m hurdles and the men’s and women’s 400m taking place that evening. A tribute to one-lap races is in order.
