During the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, Purrier took first place in the final 1,500-meter race, running a time of 3:58:03. This time broke a 32-year-old Olympic Trials record for the event, which was previously 3:58:92.
This marks the first time the farm girl fueled by milk will compete in the Olympics. Over the past 16 months, Purrier has set two separate records on the track, NBC reports. The Montgomery, Vermont native shattered a 37-year-old record for the fastest U.S. women’s indoor mile in February 2020 (4:16:85) and followed it by breaking the two-mile record (9:10:28) earlier this year.
According to the New York Times, this dairy farmer’s daughter grew up on her family’s farm where she would head to the barn before school each morning to milk 40 cows. Additionally, she participated in 4-H where she showed some of her family’s livestock at the Champlain Valley Fair and Vermont State 4-H Dairy Show.
While Purrier may be Tokyo bound, she still lives on a dairy farm today. The runner, who recently married her high-school sweetheart Jamie St. Pierre, would also compete against her now husband at 4-H events growoing up. St. Pierre, who studied dairy management at Cornell, is a dairy farmer, working on his family’s dairy farm also located in Vermont.
