On a Saturday in late June, 39-year-old Keira D’Amato stepped onto the rust-colored track at Oregon’s Hayward Field. The former American record holder in the marathon traded in her super shoes for Nike Dragonfly 2 spikes, toeing the start of the 10K alongside 22 other Olympic hopefuls—all but one younger than the mother-of-two. D’Amato ran 25 laps at just over a five-minute pace.
Fast? Undoubtedly. So speedy, in fact, that with under a mile to go in the race, she was in the lead pack, instilling hope with each stride in both her fans and individuals watching the telecast that 2024 would be the year D’Amato added Olympian to her resumé.
