Michelle Rohl (born November 12, 1965, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

) is a retired female

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes 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 the jumping eve ...

athlete from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, who competed in

race walking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

. She represented her native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. A five-time USA Indoor Champion ('95, '96, '98, '00, and '01) and a four-time U.S. outdoor 20 km champion ('99–'01, and '03), she won a silver and a bronze medal at the Pan American Games (1995 and 1999). Rohl holds three race walk American records; in the

10-km walk 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, 44:17 set on August 7, 1995, in

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

, Sweden; the

20 kilometres race walk The 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic athletics event that is competed by both men and women. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight un ...

1:31:51 set on May 13, 2000, in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

; and the 15 kilometres race walk 1:08:35 also set in Kenosha en route to the 20 km record. Rohl won the Masters W50 mile race at USA Track & Field 2019 Masters Indoor Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. Rohl broke three American Records for W55 at the 2021

USATF Masters Outdoor Championships The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for ...

in Ames, Iowa: 800m (2:23.26),

1500m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athlet ...

(4:54.16), and

4×400m relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

(4:23.52); the relay time was also a World Record. In 2022, she Rohled through the list of middle distances, improving on the 800 and 1500 while setting the 5000 and 10,000 American records, the 1500 and 5000 at the

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...

. Her 4:47.63 1500 record was even superior to Sylvia Mosqueda's age 50 record that was never ratified. A 3000 record was disallowed because she didn't have an adequate number of competitors.

References

External links

Michelle Rohl
at

USA Track & Field 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 ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohl, Michelle 1965 births Living people American female racewalkers Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Track and field athletes from Wisconsin Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 21st-century American women American masters athletes