New PR but no Olympic Final for Former Aggie Kim Conley
Kim Conley (Photo courtesy of the SRA)
Former UC Davis standout Kim Conley, who now runs for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, ran a personal best Tuesday in the first round of the women’s 5,000 meters at this year’s Olympic Games, but failed to advance to the final.
Conley finished 12th in the second heat with a time of 15: 14.48–well ahead of her 15:19.79 previous best set six weeks ago at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene.
Conley’s teammates Julie Culley and Molly Huddle both advanced to the final, which will be run on Friday and shown at some completely random time on NBC.
Conley, 26, was reportedly ready to give up competitive running after graduating from UC Davis, but her coach, Drew Wartenberg, encouraged her to continue. A $10,000 grant from the Sacramento Running Association has helped Conley step away from her assistant coaching duties with the Aggies and focus on her training.
SRA is best known as the organizing force behind the California International Marathon and several other large races in the Sacramento region.
It should be noted that Kim Conley is one of two Olympians who are past winners of this coming weekend’s Susan B. Anthony Women’s 5K.
Magdalena Boulet won this race in 2006 and 2007 and was on the 2008 Olympic Marathon Team (marathon), and Kim Conley was the 2008 Champion. Will this year’s winner be on the 2016 team? We sure hope so!
(A press release from SRA contributed to this report. )