Burnett Seeking Olympic Berth at Trials

William Penn Women’s Athletics

Oskaloosa–Lady Statesmen track alum Katie Burnett recently competed overseas and is the race of her life away from making a return trip across the pond for the biggest event of her career.

Last month, Burnett traveled to Russia for a week and on May 13, she concluded the trip by facing off against the best on the planet at the World Race Walking Cup in Saransk. Four days after arriving in the country, she finished 76th out of 106 walkers in the 20-kilometer event with a time of one hour, 46 minutes, 11 seconds.

Elena Lashmanova of Russia claimed the title at 1:27:38, while Miranda Melville paced a group of five American competitors in 49th place at 1:39:14.

The Cup was the final warm-up for Burnett, who will next be taking on the best in red, white, and blue at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. The 20K race will be contested Sunday morning, July 1 at 9:30 a.m. (Central Time). Due to contractual obligations with NBC, the race will not be shown live on television or on the internet, but it is possible the network may show part of the event in its daily recap beginning at 6 p.m. (Central Time).

To qualify for the London Olympics, Burnett will either need to place in the top three, if the top three all meet the “A” standard of 1:33:30, which no American woman has this year. The other option is that she will need to win the event with a time under the “B” standard of 1:38:00. Burnett’s top 20K time is 1:40:42.