D’Amato Victorious at the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships

USATF Release

CANTON, Ohio – It was another morning of championship racing for American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato on Saturday, as she pulled away in the final mile of the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships presented by Toyota to claim the crown in Canton, Ohio.

Race highlights and coverage of the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships, hosted by the Women’s 6K Festival and the sixth stop on the USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota, are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC. 

With near perfect racing conditions Saturday morning, Paige Stoner took out the leaders at a strong pace, stringing the pack out early, with all the top contenders sitting just off her shoulder.

The lead pack would come through the first mile in 4:51, with D’Amato leading the charge, with Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk just behind, Annie Rodenfels running alone in third, and a small group of Katie Izzo, Sarah Pagano, and Stoner forming a three-runner chase pack.

As D’Amato hit the two mile mark in 9:30, she slowly started to pull away from Tuliamuk, while Rodenfels trailed 30 meters back and the chase group of Izzo, Pagano, and Stoner another 40 meters back from Rodenfels. 

Over the next mile D’Amato would put a gap on Tuliamuk, keeping her pace, one Tuliamuk simply couldn’t match on the day. Rodenfels started to gain ground on Tuliamuk, eventually catching up as the two runners came through the three mile mark in 15:00, eight seconds behind D’Amato.

With the victory in hand, D’Amato charged to the finish, crossing the line first in a course record time of 17:52, breaking Taylor Werner’s record of 18:21 set in 2021, and she claimed her second USATF championship title.

Behind D’Amato, Rodenfels pulled away from Tuliamuk over the final 1 km to finish an impressive second overall in 17:54, adding to her growing resume of accomplishments during the 2022 campaign.

Tuliamuk showed grit to hang onto third over the final half mile of the race, crossing the line in 18:08, well ahead of Grayson Murphy, who claimed fourth in 18:31 as she prepares for a big summer of racing on the trails and roads.

The early pace slowed Stoner in the final mile, but she was able to hang on for a fifth place finish on 18:34. Pagano ran well throughout to take home a sixth place finish in 18:38, while Rachel (Schneider) Smith placed seventh in 18:48.

Izzo maintained form over the final stages of the race to claim eighth place in 18:53, with Elaina Tabb and Andrea Pomaranski rounding out the top ten in ninth and tenth, crossing the finish line in 19:10 and 19:13.

With her victory, D’Amato adds another 15 points to her USATF Running Circuit total, giving her 33 points, good enough for second behind current circuit leader Emily Sisson and her 37.5 points. Tuliamuk’s third place effort adds another 10 points to her total, maintaining her third place position with 32 points.

The next stop on the USATF Running Circuit is the USATF Men’s 8 km Championships, which take place on July 16 in Kingsport, Tennessee, hosted by the Crazy 8s 8K.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $21,500 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush