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American professional debutant Parker Valby has been off due to injury. For a year and a half, she has been building on her rehab and fitness. Saturday, at the Sound Running meet in Los Angeles, at Drake Stadium, she unleashed a strong first 5000 metre race.
The 23-year-old ran a personal best time of 14:49.41, well ahead of her competitors.
Post-race, it was clear she was delighted by her performance.
Valby bettered her US Olympic Trials performance of 14:51.44 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from spring of 2024. To quote a phrase, it’s been a minute after rehabbing from a broken navicular bone in her foot.
“I’m so back!” Valby told Carrie Tollefson. “I felt great, and I’m so excited. It’s been a journey to get back here. It’s been a rough road, but we’re so back.”
Valby grew up in East Lake, Pinellas County, Florida.
She competed for the University of Florida. In her sophomore year, she finished runner-up to Katelyn Tuohy in the 5000m at the NCAA Track and Field Championships by running a personal best of 15:20.10. This second-place performance helped Florida win the team title. She was the first collegiate athlete to sign a professional contract while in University, but she later switched from Nike to New Balance, who she is currently sponsored by. The move earned her a bigger pay day and the opportunity to continue to work with coach Mark Coogan.
At the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Valby broke her own collegiate record in the 5000m and picked up another NCAA title, running 14:52.79 in Boston. She negative split the race, running 7:33 for the first half and 7:19 for her second. She had a comfortable margin of victory ahead of Taylor Roe, who finished in second position in a time of 15:15. The next day, Valby won the 3000m indoor national championship in a personal record of 8:41.50.
In April 2024, she ran a time of 30:50.43 for the 10,000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. It was a new American collegiate record, previously held by Lisa Uhl. Valby set a new championship record, winning the 5000 m at the SEC Championship in Gainesville, Florida, on May 11, 2024.
