Karissa Schweizer ( ; born May 4, 1996) is an American middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70. Representing the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, she won the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and holds five other NCAA individual championship titles including being the two-time NCAA Champion in the 5000 meters event.

Early career

Schweizer grew up in

Urbandale, Iowa Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,580. It is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Urbandale was incorporat ...

and attended Dowling Catholic High School. She is the daughter of Mike and Kathy (Petricka) Schweizer, both of whom had successful collegiate track careers at Mankato State, with her father earning All-American honors. Karissa's grandfather, Frank Schweizer, was an NCAA Division II All-American runner at Mankato State. He coached track at

Dowling Catholic High School Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines. As of the 2013–14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basi ...

for over four decades but retired before Karissa began her high school career. Her family has a rich running heritage at Dowling with her father and uncles, Steve and Doug, running track for the school. Her siblings Kelsey and Ryan also ran for Dowling, with Ryan winning eight state championships including a swimming title. He also ran a 3:49.04 PR in the 1500m to earn him a 3rd at the 2017 USA Track and Field Junior Championships. He is a member of the University of Notre Dame's track team. Karissa's cousins Alexis and Tyler ran cross-country for Dowling and a younger cousin, Lily, competed in 5th-grade track at Saint Francis. Karissa never won an individual state or national cross-country title while at Dowling, never qualified for the

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships The Eastbay-Foot Locker Cross Country Championships are a series of annual cross country running races held in various regions of the United States to determine the premier cross country runner in various age groups, but mainly serves to find the ...

, and her only track title was for 3 kilometer the 2011 IAHSAA championships.

Collegiate career (2014-2018)

Recruited to the

for track and cross country in 2014, Schweizer's first NCAA championship appearance was at the 2014 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, where she finished 155th. Two years later, she qualified for and placed third in the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The following cross country season, Schweizer was not considered a favorite for the individual NCAA title. Despite this, Schweizer defeated favorites Erin Finn and

Anna Rohrer Anna Rohrer (born February 24, 1997) is an American long-distance runner and former student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame. She won four high school national championships and was named the Foot Locker female cross country athlete of the ...

to win the 6 kilometer race in 19:41.6, becoming the first female national champion in any sport in

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

history. Schweizer ran the

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m shou ...

and

at the next

2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 53rd NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 36th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Gilliam Indoor Track St ...

, finishing second and first respectively. At the

2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 96th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 36th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the fifth consecutive ye ...

, Schweizer ran 15:39.93 in the

to win her third national collegiate title. Despite victories at the 2017 NCAA Midwest Region and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

cross country championships, Schweizer did not repeat her win at the 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, finishing 11th. That following indoor season, she completed her first title defense by winning the 5000m at the

2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 54th NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadi ...

, in addition to a 3000m victory. She won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

as the nation's top female cross country runner in 2017. It was also at this time that Schweizer began competing at higher-profile invitational meets. At the 2018 Dr. Sander Invitational at the Armory Track & Field Center, Schweizer finished third in an international open

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

field, her time of 4:27.54 placing her among the top five collegians all-time indoors. Later that season at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

, Schweizer set the American collegiate record in the 3000m with a time of 8:41.60, her time beating Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson's previous record by one second. In the

2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 97th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the sixth consecutive yea ...

, Schweizer ran 32:14.94 in the 10,000m to finish third, twelve seconds under the existing meet record, set by Sylvia Mosqueda thirty years earlier. Two days later, after leading most of race, she easily repeated her 2017 5,000-meters win, closing out her remarkable college career with her sixth NCAA outdoor championship and NCAA indoor championship gold, a silver and two bronze medals.

Professional career

Lauren Paquette and Schweizer competing at the US Olympic Trials in 2021">Lauren_Hagans.html" ;"title="Josette Norris, Lauren Hagans">Lauren Paquette and Schweizer competing at the US Olympic Trials in 2021 Schweizer signed professionally with the Bowerman Track Club in 2018. Schweizer, running the fastest time 5K in the U.S. during the summer season, recorded a personal best 15:01.63 during a win at the Sunset Tour on July 10, 2019, in Azusa, California. On February 28, 2020, at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

's "Last Chance Invitational" meet, Schweizer set a new indoor American Record in the 3000 m of 8:25.70. Her Bowerman Track Club teammates

Shelby Houlihan Shelby Houlihan (born February 8, 1993) is an American middle distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500m relay. Houlihan competed in the 5000m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, finishing 11th. She is a 12-time US Nati ...

and Colleen Quigley finished close behind in 8:26.66 and 8:28.71, respectively. Schweizer broke

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, coach, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area ...

's 2007 indoor AR by over seven seconds. Also, her time was faster than

Mary Slaney Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships an ...

's outdoor record of 8:25.83, set in 1985. On July 10, 2020, Schweizer finished second to Shelby Houlihan in a 5000 m race conducted by the Bowerman Track Club with a new personal best of 14:26.34. Houlihan won the race in a new American Record of 14:23.92. Schweizer's time beat Houlihan's former American Record of 14:34.45 and made her the 14th fastest performer of all time. On July 23, 2020, Schweizer set a new world leading time in addition to a new personal best in the 1500m, at 4:00.02, which made her the 8th fastest American to ever run the event, finishing in front of Colleen Quigley and Courtney Frerichs in 4:03.98 and 4:07.39, respectively. On July 31, 2020, Schweizer, along with Colleen Quigley, Elise Cranny and

established a World Record in the women's 4x1500 meters relay with a time of 16:27.02, eclipsing the previous World Record of 16:33.58 set by a quarter of Kenyan runners on May 25, 2014. The record was ratified in December 2020, On June 21, 2021, in 94-degree heat in Eugene, Oregon, Schweitzer finished 0.3 seconds behind Bowerman Track Club teammate Elise Cranny in the 5000m, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team with a 15:28.11. Cranny had run the last 400 meters in 63.72 seconds.Elise Cranny Makes Her First Olympic Team, Wins 5,000 Meters
''

Runners World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...

'', Sarah Lorge Butler, June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021. Schweitzer had Achilles surgery that fall. On May 27, 2022, at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, competing in the 10,000m event, Schweitzer and

Alicia Monson Alicia Monson (born May 13, 1998) is an American long distance runner, long-distance runner who primarily competes in the 5000 metres, 5000 meters and 10,000 metres, 10,000 meters. She holds the List of North, Central American and Caribbean rec ...

ran together for the last 5,000 meters, which they covered in under 15 minutes. Schweitzer edged Monson by a step crossing the finish line in 30:49.56. It qualified both for the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

United States team to be held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

.Karissa Schweizer wins women's 10,000 at Prefontaine Classic; Natosha Rogers nabs final spot on national team
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', James Crepea, May 28, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

Competition record

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweizer, Karissa 1996 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners Missouri Tigers women's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Iowa Track and field athletes from Iowa People from Urbandale, Iowa University of Missouri alumni Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen