Grace Ping Is The One Athlete You Won't Want To Miss At The Portland Track Festival


By Johanna Gretschel, FloTrack

Link: 10 Races You Don't Want to Miss At The Portland Track Festival

Women's 5K High Performance

IAAF World Championships Standard: 15:22.0
USATF Standard: 15:25.0
When: Sunday, 8:30 PM PT
Who: Shannon Rowbury, Grace Ping, Sammy Silva, Elaina Balouris, Calli Thackery, Cally Macumber
Why: The Nike Oregon Project's Shannon Rowbury, who set the American record last August in 14:38.92 after a fourth-place finish in the Olympic 1500m final, does not yet have the world standard for the 5K. Her most recent result was a ninth-place, 4:04.61 finish in the Prefontaine 1500m. Teen phenom Grace Ping is also entered here. She owns several age group world records, including the age 13 world 5K record of 16:26.83, which she accomplished in April. Ping doesn't turn 14 until July 7, so she's racing herself for history here.