SANTEE, California – Boasting almost 50 U.S. titles between them in their illustrious careers, Nick Christie and Maria Michta-Coffey added two more Sunday at the inaugural USATF Marathon Race Walk Championships.
This was the first time for U.S. athletes to contest a national championship at the new global championship distance that matches the traditional Olympic road running event, and the top five finishers of each gender who have met the relevant World Athletics qualifying standards will be selected to Team USATF for the World Race Walk Team Championships in Brazil in April.
Christie, an Olympian at Tokyo at the 20-kilometer distance and twice a World Championships competitor, was well clear of the field on the 1K loop course, finishing in 3:11:12 to notch his 22nd U.S. crown. He was more than 20 minutes ahead of runner-up Jordan Crawford, who clocked 3:31:30 for silver, while Jason Cherng was another 11 minutes back for bronze in 3:42:25.
Taking her 24th national gold, Michta-Coffey's winning time of 3:50:38 put her more than eight minutes up on silver medalist Katie Burnett, who crossed the line in 3:59:07. Lydia McGranahan rounded out the podium with a 4:07:15 for bronze.