Molly Huddle winning her fourth straight U.S. title at the CVS Downtown 5K last year. The Providence resident was sixth this morning in the 10,000m at the Olympics with a new American record of 30:13.17.
Providence resident and the nation's top distance runner, Molly Huddle, once again was at her best on the biggest of stages.
In an historic 10,000-meter race this morning at the Olympic Games, Huddle established an American record by finishing sixth overall with a time of 30 minutes, 13.17 seconds. She smashed the existing U.S. mark of 30:22.22, set by Shalane Flanagan at the 2008 Olympics where the Massachusetts' native earned a bronze medal for her performance. Huddle was involved in the fastest 10K race in history. Ethiopia's Almaz Avana broke the world record by 14 seconds, winning the race with an eye-popping time of 29:17.45. Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot earned the silver medal with a time of 29:32.53, also under the WR. Defending Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia's took the bronze in 29:42.56.
Huddle's time would have earned her a gold medal at six of the seven previous Olympics.
MileSplit RI had a chance to talk at length with Huddle last October at Foundation Performance in Providence. The former Notre Dame All American talked about her career and also gave some advice to young aspiring runners. Check it out! It's worth a listen.