After shocking the United States' elite young athletes by winning the NCAA national 1500m, Kiwi runner Maia Ramsden plots a path to the Paris Olympics. Sarah Cowley Ross reports.
When her college mates ask where her accent is from and where she calls home, it would be easy for Kiwi middle distance runner and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) 1500m Champion Maia Ramsden to hesitate.
Ramsden proudly answers Aotearoa New Zealand but admits that life as a "diplomatic child" taking her all over the globe from a young age means it does require a bit of a back story.
The 21-year-old says her global upbringing was amazing and played a significant role in her sporting pathway.
Before leaving Wellington at age seven, Ramsden had done a few Weetbix Kiwi Kids Tryathlons at Kilbirnie Park and so gravitated to competing in triathlons in the Solomon Islands where her father Mark's work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took her family.
It was in the next posting, to Fiji where she lived aged between 11 and 14, where she met her school PE teacher and coach, Fesaitu Mario who introduced her to athletics.
“I realised athletics was such a cool sport to be part of and the Fijians loved it!”
The massive annual athletics championships, the Coca-Cola Games, where 20,000 people roared the High School competitors on is something that lights up Ramsden when she remembers the empowering event.
“He gave me my love of running and told me you could do well in this sport.”
It turned out Mario was right.
In June, Ramsden shocked the US national college competition - the NCAA Nationals - winning the 1500m in a new personal best time of 4.08.60 - becoming the second Kiwi woman to claim an illustrious NCAA track title. Three time Olympian Kim Smith who is the national record holder from the 3000m to the marathon won the 5000m title running for Providence College in 2004.
Olympian and Commonwealth games medalist Julia Ratcliffe, competing for Princeton University, won the NCAA hammer throw title in 2014.
“I still kind of pinch myself,” says Ramsden when LockerRoom caught up with the middle-distance talent who is now the sixth-fastest Kiwi ever for the distance.
The NCAA college scholarship system attracts much of the cream of international, university level track and field athletes.
The standards are extremely high (the championship level would often win at the Commonwealth Games) which makes Ramsden's achievement all the more notable.
Leading into the NCAAs Ramsdens form indicated she would break 4.10 barrier. She’d been in hot form in the indoor season through the first quarter of 2023, running a big indoor mile personal best, but hadn’t quite converted it into an outdoor performance over the 1500m.
Going into the championships her personal best was 4.11.73, which she broke in the semifinal by running 4.09.81 to progress to the final.
“I thought if I can stay with the pack I can get a good time.
“It felt so good to break through the 4.10 barrier and in the last 50m of the final I was just terrified I’d get caught!” laughs Ramsden who ran away from the field in the ultimate race.
“We do these repeat 200m workouts in training and with 200m to go it was like my muscle memory kicked in and I changed gears. It just felt so good!," she says.
“My Mum (Margot Szamier) came from Wellington and having her there made me way more relaxed. She didn’t used to come to my races because we’ve always been overseas.”
Harvard via Ethopia
Tracking back, after the family’s posting in Fiji by good fortune the next international move was to Ethiopia – one of the powerhouses of global distance running.
“At 6am the streets of Addis Ababa were filled with people going running. It was unreal.”
“At school everyone talked about what was happening on the pro running scene.”
And while running was everywhere in Ethiopia, Ramsden said it was difficult for her to have access to some facilities for her training including the National Stadium.
“Ethiopia was amazing but I did miss being swallowed by Fijian athletics and their support.”
As a New Zealand resident Ramdsen would return home to compete at the national championships - in 2020 she won the U20 800m and 1500m double at Ngā Puna Wai track in Christchurch.
Ramsden moved countries again in 2020 when she took up a position on the Harvard University track team and starting studying history and literature (specialising in Pacific literature).
She starts her senior year at Harvard next month and says her time at the illustrious Ivy League college is intense but great.
“My study is full-on but there’s also limited time off for us because of the cross-country season, into the indoor season and then outdoor season.”
“NCAA’s for all of it flaws, is a really fun place.”
The intensity of the team schedule is something Ramsden is acutely aware of in the gruelling nature of college sport - and life beyond college sport.
Eyes on Paris
“I hope to have a long and healthy career in sport.”
Ramsden feels fortunate she has a coach in Alex Gibby who respects her aim for sustainability in sport.
“I’ve never been afraid of hard work in training but it’s making sure I properly recover so I don’t get hurt. Coach Gibby has so much knowledge and empathy around ensuring this.”
Off the back of her NCAA victory, which elevated her into being a contender for the Paris Olympics, she feels she has had to reassess her goals.
“I feel like the Olympics are every athlete's dream. It’s definitely mine.”
To be nominated for selection for Paris, Ramsden will need to either run 4.02.50 (noting the New Zealand Record is held by Nikki Hamblin with 4.04.82) or qualify through the World Athletics points qualifying system.
Next collegiate season there are obligations from Harvard around Ramsden’s competition schedule but she believes she’s in a good place to negotiate adjustments to allow her the best chance to qualify for Paris.
“My coach and I have talked about the points system to qualify and I do feel there’s some wriggle room in the normal schedule.”
It was tempting for Ramsden to keep her track season going with the carrot of the World Athletics Championships next month being dangled in front of her, being close to the selection requirements.
But they held off. “In shutting down my season my coach and I felt we were protecting me for a great season next year.
“I’m looking forward to another year ahead and taking this excitement into it.”
For Harvard and Aotearoa New Zealand.
* An earlier version of this story overlooked Kim Smith's NCAA victory and that omission is regretted.
