Emily Sisson (born October 12, 1991) is an American

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

who holds the North American record in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, set Oct. 9, 2022, at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, where she ran 2:18:29 to finish second, becoming only the second non-African-born woman to break 2:19. She also owns American record in the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

. Sisson was ninth in the

10,000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the 2017 London IAAF World Championships in Athletics, and won the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

road 10k Championships in 2016 and 5k in 2018. In the

2019 London Marathon The 2019 London Marathon was the 39th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 28 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who took his fourth London Marathon victory in a time of ...

, her first try at the distance, she placed sixth in a time of 2:23:08.Quite A Marathon Debut For Emily Sisson
''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

'', Sean Hartnett, May 3, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019. In December 2020, she ran the Valencia Half-Marathon in 1:07:26, narrowly missing

Molly Huddle Molly Huddle (born August 31, 1984) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. Huddle set the American record in the 5000 m at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42.6 ...

’s American record. Sisson subsequently qualified to compete in the 10,000 m run at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

after winning the US Olympic Trials; she finished 10th at the event. On May 7, 2022, clocking 1:07:11, she broke the USA woman's half marathon record at the USATF Half Marathon Championships in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Sisson lowered her own record at the 2023

Houston Half Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

on Jan. 15, running 66:52 for second place. She runs for New Balance in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

High school

Emily Sisson is a four-time high school state champion in cross country while competing at the following

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

and Nebraska School Activities Association schools:

Parkway Central High School Parkway Central High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, Missouri that is part of the Parkway School District. History Five elementary school districts merged to form the Parkway Consolidated School District. The name for the distric ...

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", derived ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

(

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

) Marian High School and

Millard Millard may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in the United States * Millard, Missouri, a village * Millard, Omaha, Nebraska, a former suburb and present-day neighborhood of Omaha * Millard Creek, Pennsylvania * Millard County, Utah * Millard, Virginia, an ...

(Nebraska) North High School. Sisson won a 2 mile in 9:53 before running in her first

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

. She also ran a personal best 4:44.02 in the 2010 adidas Jim Ryun Girls Dream Mile at the

New York Diamond League The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2 ...

in June. At 2009

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 ...

, Sisson finished third in 17:19 behind Chelsey Sveinsson and winner Megan Goethals. Sisson finished 29th at 2008

National Finals.

College

Sisson

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

her first fall at

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

before transferring to

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

to train under Ray Treacy. At the

2013 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships The 2013 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 75th NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 33rd NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship held at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, In ...

, Sisson placed 7th in the 6000m with a time of 20:17.5. Sisson set an

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

indoor track and field Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

5000 meters 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 stand ...

record, won three

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles, and earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

honors eleven times. While competing for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

during her freshman year, Sisson also earned All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors in cross country, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in both the cross country and outdoor track seasons.

Professional career

On March 29, 2019, running the 10,000 meters in the Stanford Invitational, Sisson beat her training partner and U.S. record-holder

, by 8.9 seconds and lapped the rest of the field.

Competition record

USA National Championships

Road

Sisson won the 2016

Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prompt ...

in 24:06, and finished second to

at 2017

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

New York Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

in 1:08:21. She later beat her PR at the Valencia half-marathon in 2020, resulting in nearly an American record; her half marathon time is the US all-time second-fastest. After setting an American debut record at the 2017

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

, Sisson finished second behind Buze Diriba of Ethiopia with a time of 1:12:24 in the 2018 race.

Outdoor track and field

Personal bests

All data sourced from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

profile unless otherwise noted. Data as of October 9, 2022.

References

External links

* * *
Emily Sisson
at All-Athletics

at Providence Friars * (Track & Field Results Reporting System)
Interview post NCAA 5000 meters indoor record
at

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisson, Emily 1991 births Living people People from Chesterfield, Missouri Track and field athletes from Missouri Track and field athletes from Nebraska American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners Providence College alumni USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States 21st-century American women