Elle Purrier St. Pierre takes World Championship Silver!

On Friday, March 18 Elle Purrier St. Pierre, the Olympic contender from Berkshire, Vt. took home silver at the World Indoor Track Championships in the 3,000 meters.

“In 2019 in Doha Jenny Simpson told me the best feeling in the world is to wear a flag around your shoulders,” said St. Pierre who had roomed with the veteran runner then. Today, as the silver medalist, she got to wear the American flag as her sister Amanda, who had flown to watch the race, cheered for her.

In the Olympics, Purrier St. Pierre made it to the finals of the 1500 but in the intense heat of Tokyo did not perform at her best. Today, she ran the 3000 meter indoor track in Belgrade, Serbia in 8:42.04, pulling ahead of Ethiopian Ejgayehu Taye and almost catching the leader, Lemlem Hailu, also of Ethiopia.  Hailu ran just .22 seconds faster, finishing in  8:41.82. Taye was not far behind with a time of 8:42:23. American Alicia Monson put on a strong show as well to finish in seventh.

Watch the final lap here:

In the post race press conference, Purrier St. Pierre mentioned there had been a lot of jostling at the start of the race, something she also faced in the Olympics where she was nearly pushed off the track but recovered.
Here’s what she had to say at the press conference after the race:

For more on Purrier St. Pierre’s meteoric rise, see How Elle Purrier-St. Pierre Picked Up Her Pace