Durango’s Laura Thweatt earned her place on the USA Track & Field marathon team, and she’s no stranger to representing the U.S. on the international stage.
The 2007 Durango High School graduate and alumna of the University of Colorado at Boulder was the top American woman at the London Marathon on April 23. She finished sixth overall in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 38 seconds to give her a new personal-best time in a major marathon.
She also finished seventh overall and again was the top American woman at the 2015 New York City Marathon, as she crossed the line in 2:28:23 in that event.
Thweatt, 28, was confident she would be named to the USA Track & Field marathon team. Thursday, the announcement out of USATF offices in Indianapolis made it official. Now, Thweatt will set her sights on the IAAF World Championships in August, which also will be held in London.
“It’s huge. I’m very honored,” Thweatt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald from her home in Boulder. “It feels good to represent Team USA and get to wear that uniform on the international stage.”
Being selected for the world championships was the goal of Thweatt and her famed coach Lee Troop. They went to the London Marathon hoping to put together a race good enough to give her a chance to qualify.
“When the day comes together the way you want it to in a marathon, you walk away feeling pretty good about that,” Thweatt said of her London race. “It was a really great day. I felt strong, and the race played out how we thought it would. That’s not always going to be the case. You take those days and cherish them.”
Thweatt battled a pelvic injury leading up to and following the Olympic Trials in 2016, when she attempted to qualify for the 10,000- and 5,000-meter runs. She fell a little short and immediately turned her focus to injury recovery and the marathon distance.
Thweatt said the injury brought pain after each long training run, including the London Marathon, but she was happy it didn’t get worse after London. Thursday, she underwent a procedure to more aggressively attack the injury. She received a platelet-rich plasma injection, a procedure common to promote healing of injured joints. She aims to completely recover in the coming months as she builds toward the world championship.
“I’m taking a more aggressive measure to try to heal it,” she said. “We knew we were doing all the right things for it to not become any worse before and after the race. It was a relief that it didn’t get worse after the race.”
The world championships won’t be held on the same course as the London Marathon. The IAAF will use the same course as the 2012 Olympic Games.
Three men and three women were selected for the team. Abdi Abdirahman (Tuscon, Arizona), Bobby Curtis (Louisville, Kentucky) and Augustus Maiyo (Fort Carson, Colorado) will represent the men.
Thweatt will be joined on the women’s team by Serena Burla (St. Louis, Missouri) and Amy Cragg.
Thweatt, who is sponsored by Saucony, said she felt she had a good chance at a roster spot after learning Shalene Flanagan, Jordan Hasay and Desiree Linden likely would decline invitations.
“We were pretty confident, but you never know until it is official,” Thweatt said. “I was holding my breath for the final announcement, and it’s good to have that done.”
Thweatt, whose parents Jean and Steve still live in Durango, said she hopes to run a build-up race at the end of June or early July to prepare for the world championships, which will be held August 6. The course will be a loop-style that starts and ends at the Tower of London.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
