Last weekend, 17 year old Alisa Vainio from Finland ran an amazing time of 2:33 for her first marathon. Not only was it her first ever marathon but it was the sixth fastest time in Finnish history. Results
The time is inside the 2:36 qualifying standard for the 2016 Olympics in Rio but she can't go because she is too young! According to International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules, both male and female runners must be born on or before 1996 to qualify. 17 year old Vainio was born in 1997. The purpose of the age limit is to protect young athletes.
Here are some of her other race times....
Event Result Venue Date
800m 2:16.65 Lappeenranta (FIN) 04.06.2014
1500m 4:39.49 Kouvola (FIN) 10.07.2014
3000m 9:28.48 Savonlinna (FIN) 16.08.2015
5000m 16:11.87 Pori (FIN) 31.07.2015
10,000m 32:58.17 Pori (FIN) 02.08.2015
3000mSC 10:02.45 Espoo (FIN) 30.08.2015
Marathon 2:33:24 Lappeenranta (FIN) 19.09.2015
Whatever about the wisdom of having someone so young run marathons, it's an amazing time for a 17 year old teenager.
3 comments:
What an incredible talent. It seems very unfair that a person who will be over 18 can't compete in the marathon at the Olympics, when you have swimmers who are as young as 13 or 14 competing in swimming and gymnastics.
that soesn't make it right that little girls compete in the olympics
I wonder how much better she will run in 3 years time and 6 years time. I must tell that she must be protected very carefully. The world athletics history is full of unsuccessful stories of young and very talented runners. I wouldn't push her too much until she's twenty or so.
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