Leachman reflects on running at U.S. Olympic trials

Boerne Champion’s Elizabeth Leachman had her moment on the national stage last weekend at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

The spotlight shone bright on the 16-year-old, who will be a junior at Champion in a few short weeks.

Leachman raced in the women’s 5K event at the trials and was mentioned several times during the national broadcast, mainly because she was the only high school runner in the field.

Leachman returned from Oregon last weekend and said it’s something she’ll always remember.

“ I think I would describe it as an unforgettable experience,” said Leachman, who hopes to return to the trials in 2028.

So, was it life-changing?

“I think in some ways it was,” she answered.

One of the NBC announcers, Leigh Diffey, made mention of Leachman’s age, “16 years, 154 days old,” he said.

Diffey asked his co-host Kara Goucher, a two-time Olympian, what Leachman’s strategy should be and Goucher said it was more about enjoying the experience.

“I think Leachman will just want to sit in the pack and get this experience,” she said. “It would be incredible for her to make it into the finals but I think this is more of just an experience to have, to learn so much and see what elite racing is like.”

Leachman was the 30th qualifier in the field of 30 that raced in two heats with 15 runners in each heat. She finished 13th in her heat and 26th overall in the field of 30 with a time of 16:36.67.

Leachman said she knew she was a longshot to even advance out of her heat and into the finals, but was fine with that.

“ That’s what I was there for, the experience more than anything else,” she said. “It was special and I was super grateful.”

Goucher said the fact that Leachman even made the trials was incredible.

“This is truly remarkable because the 5,000 is an event that you get as your body hardens and you get older. You really have to build the strength to run it and she qualified for the Olympic trials in her first outdoor 5,000meter run,” Goucher said. “Only 16 years old and the youngest competitor here at the Olympic track and field trials.”

Like a kid in a candy store

Leachman admits to being a bit wide-eyed at the trials because she was racing against athletes that she’s followed, and in some cases, modeled her training after.

“The biggest thing was getting to meet people I looked up to,” she said. “I think there were three that stood out to me.”

One of them was Elise Cranny, who won the second heat that Leachman raced in. Cranny eventually qualified for this year’s Olympics after she finished second in the finals.

Cranny was a member of the 2021 U.S. Olympic team and is a three-time U.S. champion in the 5K. Leachman said Cranny gave her a hug before the race.

“She’s amazing, she’s a fantastic runner,” Leachman noted. “She was very nice and very supportive.”

Earlier this year, Leachman broke Katelyn Tuohy’s national high school record. Tuohy was in Leachman’s heat and said that was another runner she admires. “She had phenomenal pressure at a young age and I like the way she handles herself,” Leachman said. “I like how she speaks after a race.”

Another runner Leachman looks up to is NCAA national champion Parker Valby from the University of Florida.

Valby is the first female distance runner to win five individual NCAA titles in one season this year (two indoor, two outdoor and one cross-country).

Valby finished fourth in the finals and missed out on an Olympic spot, but Leachman admires how she uses cross training when dealing with injuries.

“Some of my training was modeled after her,” Leachman said. “She’s been injury prone and I’m implementing the same type of training.”

What’s up next?

Leachman said she’s done with racing for the summer and doesn’t plan to race again until the high school cross country season starts.

At the trials, Leachman ran with Kinesio tape on the back of her right leg because she’s been dealing with a nagging injury.

Because of that, she didn’t train as much as she would have liked leading up to the trials and hopes to use the summer to heal up.

“We caught it pretty early, but my training was not what it had been and I had to keep my mileage low,” she said. “I’ll take a couple of weeks to a month off without running and do cross training. I hope to get back to regular training and open up my cross-country season later this year.”