Weini Kelati’s American dream comes full circle at Hayward Field

Weini Kelati’s American dream comes full circle at Hayward Field

EUGENE, Ore. — The first victory for Weini Kelati came when she arrived here this week. She had been back to Eugene many times, and each visit reminded her of the first trip a decade ago. It made her think of the unfathomable decision she made, of telling her family she would not be returning home, of leaving behind an old life and starting a new one.

“Every time I come out here, it brings back the memory,” Kelati said. “I get very emotional, and it affects my race. This time, I’ve been saying: ‘I’ve got to become a new me. Forget all the past and focus on the present.’”

Saturday night, Kelati took her new self to the start line of the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. Even though she would almost certainly become an Olympian regardless of the result, she wanted to win. On the final lap, after a grueling 30 minutes of running, Kelati surged to the front, fell behind, and surged back into the lead. She crossed the finish line first. She kept the memories at bay.

Kelati made a victory lap holding a tiny American flag. She will compete at the Paris Olympics next month with “USA” across her chest. It will be another touchstone in a remarkable saga that began in Eugene.

In 2014, at age 17, Kelati ran for Eritrea, the nation in which she was born and grew up, in a youth world championship event in Eugene. Thousands attempt to flee and seek asylum every year from Eritrea, which human rights groups regard as one of the most repressive countries on Earth.

Kelati became one of them. She called her family and cried as she told them she would not be returning home. She defected to the United States. She moved to Leesburg in the Virginia suburbs and lived with a third cousin, Amlesom Teklai, who had been a distance runner in college at Stephen F. Austin.

Kelati became a star at Heritage High and a 13-time all-American in cross country and track and field at the University of New Mexico. In 2021, she became a U.S. citizen three days before the 10,000 meters race at the Olympic trials. Her flight landed two days before the race. “I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep,” Kelati said. In brutal heat, exhausted from travel, Kelati faded and did not finish the race.

Kelati came to Eugene again intent on victory, even if she had an Olympic berth all but secured. Kelati was the only runner in the race who had achieved the Olympic standard time. The only way she wouldn’t make the Olympic team would be if an unlikely chain of events unfolded: if she finished outside the top three, and then all three podium finishers recovered quickly enough to achieve the standard time in the next few weeks.

Kelati didn’t care about any of that.

“I was thinking about winning the race,” Kelati said, “no matter how hard it’s going to be.”

Before Kelati walked to the start line, her coach, Stephen Haas, told her, “Whatever you do, do you.” As a professional, Kelati, 27, has struggled to manage her expectations. This year, she told herself to try her best and accept results — another part of the new Weini Kelati.

“Even though I perform well and I run PRs, I don’t feel I was doing good enough, because I came up short of my goals,” Kelati said. “That hits me really hard. It’s mentally a struggle when you feel like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know if my sponsors are happy about this.’ And it destroys everything I work for. So this year, I said, ‘It’s okay.’”

Weini Kelati held off Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer in the 10,000-meter final Saturday at the U.S. track and field trials.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Kelati told herself to be patient, to conserve energy for the finishing kick she has focused on in training. Kelati stayed at the edge of the front-runners for the first 7,000 meters, then surged to third place. Kelati, Florida newcomer Parker Valby and Olympian Karissa Schweizer separated from the pack until the final lap, Kelati running in third.

With 300 meters left, Kelati darted past Valby into second place. She passed Schweizer with 200 meters to go. Schweizer took her shot with 150 meters left, jetting past Kelati back into the lead. In another 50 meters, her face contorting, Kelati swooped inside Schweizer, zoomed past and finally created separation until she finished in 31:41.07. Kelati bent at the waist and placed her hands on the back of her head.

“I knew I was going to do it,” Kelati said. “At the same time, I felt like I was in disbelief.”

Kelati would continue her journey all the way to Paris. Three years ago, she could have sought to gain citizenship elsewhere and compete for a different country, a reasonable consideration given her citizenship hurdles. She decided she wanted to run for the United States or she wouldn’t run at all.

“It’s an honor every time I go out and put the USA gear on,” Kelati said. “I feel like I’m going to be out there and have the best race of my life.”

Kelati will still be thinking about the place she left. She can suppress her memories, but they do not disappear. She hears from people in Eritrea after every time she runs. “They’re watching,” Kelati said. “Every time I race, wherever I go, they follow me. They watch my race. They’re going to see me in Paris, too.”