| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1982 Waukesha, Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||
| Event | Marathon | ||||||||
Medal record
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Serena Burla (born September 27, 1982) is an American track and field athlete from St. Louis, specializing in long-distance running events. [1]
In college, Burla was a two-time Big 12 Conference runner-up for the Missouri Tigers. [2]
Burla competed in the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where she finished 16th (upgraded from 17th place after suspension of Inga Abitova). [3] [4] In 2010, Burla was diagnosed with cancer and had a tumor and the dominant muscle removed from her right hamstring. [5] Eight months after her surgery, Burla returned to competitive running. In 2011, she ran the New York City Marathon in 2:37 and qualified for 2012 Summer Olympic trials. During trials, Burla collapsed at mile 18 and was carried off the track. [5]
In 2013, Burla ran the Boston Marathon. [6] Burla won the 2013 USA Half Marathon Championships (held as part of the Houston Half Marathon). [7]
At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, Burla placed 10th in the marathon with a time of 2:31:06.
Burla ran a Marathon PR of 2:26:53 to finish 4th in the 2017 Osaka Women's Marathon. That same year, she finished 11th in the world championship marathon in London. Later that week, her management team put out a release that her cancer had returned. [8]
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