Elle Purrier St. Pierre

Last updated

Elle Purrier St. Pierre
Elinor Purrier St. Pierre Belgrade 2022.jpg
Personal information
Birth nameElinor Purrier
Full nameElinor Purrier St. Pierre
Born (1995-02-20) February 20, 1995 (age 29)
Montgomery Center, Vermont, U.S.
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 1500 m
One mile
3000 m
3000 m steeplechase
5000 m
College team New Hampshire
Club New Balance Boston
Turned pro2018
Coached by Mark Coogan
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Glasgow 3000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Belgrade 3000 m

Elinor Purrier St. Pierre (born February 20, 1995), better known as Elle Purrier St. Pierre [lower-alpha 1] , is an American track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. She won a gold medal in the 3000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Purrier also represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Contents

Early life and youth sports

Purrier was raised in Montgomery Center, Vermont, a small town near the Canadian border. [1] [2] She lived on a dairy farm, where she woke up at 5 a.m. each day before school to milk cows and perform other chores, such as throwing hay bales and caring for pigs. [1] [3] At Richford High School, Purrier took up running alongside basketball. She competed at a high level in track and cross country, with first-place finishes at the New England Cross Country Championships and Northeast Regional championships for the Nike Cross Nationals. She was named Vermont Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year three times, receiving the honor in 2010, 2011, and 2012. [4] Purrier was later inducted into the hall of fame of the Vermont Principals' Association in 2022. [4]

College competition

Purrier competed for the University of New Hampshire from 2013 to 2018, where she was NCAA champion and an 11-time All-American. [5] As a freshman, she ran 4:36 in the mile. [6] By her sophomore year, she improved her time to 4:29.71, setting a school record and achieving one of the top ten fastest times by a collegiate athlete. Her fast time in the mile marked her as a favorite to win the event at the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. [6] At those championships, she finished third after leading for much of the race but was overtaken in the final stretch. [7] Later that year, Purrier improved one place to take second in the mile at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Following several podium finishes at previous NCAA championships, Purrier won a title in the mile at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, finishing in 4:31.76. She led for most of the race and finished just ahead of Dani Jones and Niki Hiltz, with less than a second difference between them. [8]

Purrier also competed at a high level in the steeple while at the University of New Hampshire. In 2014, she won a national title in the 3000 meter steeplechase, [9] and went on to place ninth in the final of the event at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Later in her collegiate career, she finished third in the steeplechase at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. In 2016, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Purrier its Northeast Region Track Athlete of the Year. [10] Purrier majored in nutrition, graduating in 2018.

Professional career

Purrier signed with New Balance in July 2018. [11]

2019

At the 2019 USA Indoor Championships, Purrier finished sixth in the mile and won the bronze medal in the two miles. At the 2019 USA Outdoor Championships, she won the bronze medal in the 5000 m. [12] Purrier competed at the 2019 World Championships in October and finished 11th in the 5000 m. [13]

2020

At the 2020 Millrose Games on February 8, Purrier broke the American record for the indoor mile with a time of 4:16.85. [14] At the 2020 USA Indoor Championships, she finished fourth in the 5000 m. [12]

2021

On February 13, 2021, Purrier broke the American indoor two mile record with a time of 9:10.28. [15] At the 2020 USA Olympic Trials, she won the gold medal in the 1500 m with a time of 3:58.03, setting a personal best and breaking the meet record. [16] Purrier competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in August 2021. She finished 10th in the 1500 m. [12]

Purrier (center) on the podium after taking gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships - Women's 3000 metres. Podium 3000m women Glasgow 2024.jpg
Purrier (center) on the podium after taking gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 3000 metres.

2022

At the 2022 USA Indoor Championships, Purrier won the bronze medal in the 1500 m and the gold medal in the 3000 m. She competed at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in March and won the silver medal in the 3000 m. [17]

While pregnant, Purrier competed at the 2022 USA Outdoor Championships and won the bronze medal in the 1500 m. [18] She competed at the 2022 World Championships in July and did not advance to the final of the 1500 m.

2024

In February 2024, Purrier broke her own American record at the Wanamaker Mile race at the Millrose Games in New York City, running 4:16.41. [19] In her first major international competition since giving birth to her first child, Purrier won gold in the 3000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. [20] Her race set the American record for the 3000m.

Personal life

Purrier is a dairy farmer from Vermont. [18] She married her longtime boyfriend Jamie St. Pierre in 2020 and gave birth to their son in March 2023. [12]

Championship results

National

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
Representing the University of New Hampshire
2014 USA Junior Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st3000 m s'chase10:24.46
2016 USA Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 28th3000 m s'chase10:08.39 [21]
Representing New Balance
2018 USA Outdoor Championships Des Moines, Iowa 6th1500 m4:09.30
2019 USA Indoor Championships [22] New York, New York 6thOne mile4:32.69
3rdTwo miles9:34.65
USA Outdoor Championships Des Moines, Iowa 3rd5000 m15:17.46
2020 USA Indoor Championships Albuquerque, New Mexico 4th3000 m8:56.56
2021 USA Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st1500 m3:58.03 PB
2022 USA Indoor Championships Spokane, Washington 3rd1500 m4:06.14
1st3000 m8:41.53
USA Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon 3rd1500 m4:05.14
20th5000 m16:15.83

International

Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, OR, United States9th 3000 m s'chase 10:21.59
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar11th 5000 m 14:58.17
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan10th 1500 m 4:01.75
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia2nd 3000 m 8:42.04
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom1st 3000 m 8:20.87
Olympic Games Paris, France8th 1500 m 3:57.52

Personal bests

All sourced from World Athletics, as of February 11, 2024. [23]

Outdoor
DisciplineMarkVenueDateNotes
800 meters1:59.99Irvine, CA (USA)May 15, 2021
1500 meters3:55.99Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA)June 30, 2024
One mile4:30.30Alexander Stadium, Birmingham (GBR)August 18, 2019
3000 meters8:46.43Cork (IRL)July 16, 2018
5000 meters14:34.12Los Angeles, CA (USA)May 17, 2024
3000 meters steeplechase9:43.65Providence, RI (USA)April 15, 2017
One mile road4:25.0Honolulu, HI (USA)December 7, 2019
4x800 meters relay8:47.16Durham, NH (USA)May 7, 2017
Indoor
DisciplineMarkVenueDateNotes
800 meters2:03.64Boston, MA (USA)February 24, 2018
1000 meters2:46.02Durham, NH (USA)January 16, 2016
1500 meters4:00.20Armory Track, New York, NY (USA)February 8, 2020
One mile4:16.41Armory Track, New York, NY (USA)February 11, 2024 North American record
3000 meters8:20.87 Commonwealth Arena, Glasgow, UKMarch 2, 2024 North American record
Two miles9:10.28Ocean Breeze Athl. Complex, New York, NY (USA)February 13, 2021 North American record
4x800 meters relay9:15.98Durham, NH (USA)January 16, 2016
Distance medley relay10:33.85The Track at New Balance, Boston, MA (USA)April 15, 2022 World record (p)

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References

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Notes

  1. First name pronounced /ˈɛli/