University of New Hampshire Athletics
Elle Purrier St. Pierre Qualifies for 2024 Olympics as U.S. Champion in 5,000m
6/24/2024 11:08:00 PM | General, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
EUGENE, Oreg. – Elle Purrier St. Pierre, a 2018 University of New Hampshire graduate and Class of 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, qualified for her second Olympics on Monday night when she became the U.S. national champion by winning the 5,000 meter final at the track & field U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
Purrier St. Pierre fended off Elise Cranny in a photo finish to cross the finish line in a U.S. Olympic Team Trials record time of 14 minutes, 40.34 seconds. She bested the previous benchmark of 14:45.35 established by Regina Jacobs in 2000.
After the opening 100 meters, Purrier St. Pierre positioned herself into fourth place and she moved up to third with 8.5 laps remaining of the 12.5 lap race. With four laps (1,600m) left, she advanced into second place and then she surged to the lead with 800m to go. Purrier St. Pierre entered the final straightaway slightly ahead of Cranny and maintained that lead to edge the runner-up by .02.
Purrier ran consistent times each of the first four 1,000m splits – 3:00.90, 2:58.41, 2:58.69 and 2:58.31 – before kicking strong in the last 1,000m for a split of 2:44.05 and a record time of 14:40.34.
Purrier St. Pierre competed in the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She is also scheduled to race in the 1,500m at this year's U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Those first round heats are June 27 (8:24 p.m. Eastern), followed by the semifinals June 28 (8:58 p.m. Eastern) and the June 30 final (8:09 p.m. Eastern).
Purrier St. Pierre had advanced to Monday's 5,000 final by winning Heat 1 last Friday (June 21) with the fastest overall time in the first round. In that race, she strategically held steady in second place then sprinted to the lead with one lap remaining and crossed the finish line in 15:13.82.
Purrier St. Pierre is arguably the most accomplished student-athlete in UNH history. She is an 11-time All-American – including an NCAA national champion – and 17-time America East champion. She was voted UNH's Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year in 2018.
She was honored as the America East Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year consecutive years (2016-17 and 2017-18) and was named an America East Scholar Athlete a total of six times – three times as a junior and three more as a senior – because of excellence both in competition and the classroom, where she compiled a 3.71 cumulative GPA while earning a B.S. in Nutrition.
Purrier St. Pierre won the national championship in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March 2018 to become the first UNH track student-athlete and fourth America East track & field athlete to win a national title.
She also raced to 14th place in the 3,000-meter at the 2018 NCAA indoor meet to earn All-America Second Team recognition in that event. Not only was she the first Wildcat to compete in two events at an NCAA Track & Field Championship, she earned All-America status in both.
One month earlier (Feb. '18), she recorded the second-fastest indoor mile time in NCAA history with a time of 4 minutes, 26.55 seconds. That mark remained No. 2 until a year ago and it is currently the fifth fastest.
In cross country, Purrier St. Pierre won three consecutive America East individual titles (2014, 2016, 2017; she redshirted in 2015) and helped New Hampshire win five consecutive conference team titles spanning 2013-17. She was the NCAA Regional individual champion as a junior and senior, and went on to earn All-America recognition each of those years, including seventh place at the 2016 NCAAs.
Purrier St. Pierre has been running professionally since graduating from UNH. She made the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team by winning the 1,500m finals at the track & field U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June 2021 with a time of 3:58.03 that broke a 33-year old record for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Purrier St. Pierre advanced from the first round and then semifinals to the 1,500m Olympic Finals, where she finished in 10th place.
Fast forward to 2024, where Purrier St. Pierre broke the American record for the women's indoor mile (4:16.41) that had stood for more than 37 years and then won the women's 3,000m run at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. It was her first global championship title and the first time a former Wildcat achieved this in the history of UNH athletics. Purrier St. Pierre also set both a North American and championship record with her winning time of 8:20.87.
Purrier St. Pierre fended off Elise Cranny in a photo finish to cross the finish line in a U.S. Olympic Team Trials record time of 14 minutes, 40.34 seconds. She bested the previous benchmark of 14:45.35 established by Regina Jacobs in 2000.
After the opening 100 meters, Purrier St. Pierre positioned herself into fourth place and she moved up to third with 8.5 laps remaining of the 12.5 lap race. With four laps (1,600m) left, she advanced into second place and then she surged to the lead with 800m to go. Purrier St. Pierre entered the final straightaway slightly ahead of Cranny and maintained that lead to edge the runner-up by .02.
Purrier ran consistent times each of the first four 1,000m splits – 3:00.90, 2:58.41, 2:58.69 and 2:58.31 – before kicking strong in the last 1,000m for a split of 2:44.05 and a record time of 14:40.34.
Purrier St. Pierre competed in the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She is also scheduled to race in the 1,500m at this year's U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Those first round heats are June 27 (8:24 p.m. Eastern), followed by the semifinals June 28 (8:58 p.m. Eastern) and the June 30 final (8:09 p.m. Eastern).
Purrier St. Pierre had advanced to Monday's 5,000 final by winning Heat 1 last Friday (June 21) with the fastest overall time in the first round. In that race, she strategically held steady in second place then sprinted to the lead with one lap remaining and crossed the finish line in 15:13.82.
Purrier St. Pierre is arguably the most accomplished student-athlete in UNH history. She is an 11-time All-American – including an NCAA national champion – and 17-time America East champion. She was voted UNH's Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year in 2018.
She was honored as the America East Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year consecutive years (2016-17 and 2017-18) and was named an America East Scholar Athlete a total of six times – three times as a junior and three more as a senior – because of excellence both in competition and the classroom, where she compiled a 3.71 cumulative GPA while earning a B.S. in Nutrition.
Purrier St. Pierre won the national championship in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March 2018 to become the first UNH track student-athlete and fourth America East track & field athlete to win a national title.
She also raced to 14th place in the 3,000-meter at the 2018 NCAA indoor meet to earn All-America Second Team recognition in that event. Not only was she the first Wildcat to compete in two events at an NCAA Track & Field Championship, she earned All-America status in both.
One month earlier (Feb. '18), she recorded the second-fastest indoor mile time in NCAA history with a time of 4 minutes, 26.55 seconds. That mark remained No. 2 until a year ago and it is currently the fifth fastest.
In cross country, Purrier St. Pierre won three consecutive America East individual titles (2014, 2016, 2017; she redshirted in 2015) and helped New Hampshire win five consecutive conference team titles spanning 2013-17. She was the NCAA Regional individual champion as a junior and senior, and went on to earn All-America recognition each of those years, including seventh place at the 2016 NCAAs.
Purrier St. Pierre has been running professionally since graduating from UNH. She made the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team by winning the 1,500m finals at the track & field U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June 2021 with a time of 3:58.03 that broke a 33-year old record for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Purrier St. Pierre advanced from the first round and then semifinals to the 1,500m Olympic Finals, where she finished in 10th place.
Fast forward to 2024, where Purrier St. Pierre broke the American record for the women's indoor mile (4:16.41) that had stood for more than 37 years and then won the women's 3,000m run at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. It was her first global championship title and the first time a former Wildcat achieved this in the history of UNH athletics. Purrier St. Pierre also set both a North American and championship record with her winning time of 8:20.87.
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