Hillary Bor breaks American record to win USATF 10 Mile Championships

Olympian Hillary Bor broke the 40-year-old American 10-mile record on Sunday, running 46:11 to win the USATF 10-mile title. The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race in Washington, D.C., doubled as this year’s USATF championships, and Bor finished second overall behind Ethiopia’s Tsegay Kidanu, who won the race in 46:08. Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat won the women’s race in 52:04, 33 seconds ahead of Sarah Hall, who took home the women’s American title in 52:37. 

Hillary Bor and Sara Hall, everybody 👑@borkip bettered the American record* with his 46:11 finish to win the USATF 10 Mile Championships! @SaraHall3 kicked it into gear in the final stretch to take the win in 52:37 over Nell Rojas’ 52:38!

📸: @chrisnickinson #USARC pic.twitter.com/lqa9gmryOJ

— USATF (@usatf) April 2, 2023

Breaking records 

Greg Meyer ran the previous American 10-mile record of 46:13 back on March 27, 1983, and Bor broke it almost exactly 40 years later. In the opening 5 km of the run on Sunday, Bor shared the lead with Kidanu and four other men (including his brother, Emmanuel Bor), passing through the checkpoint with a 14:38 split. After 10 km of running, Bor and Kidanu had separated themselves from that group, giving themselves a 13-second advantage over the third-place runner. 

The pair’s lead only continued to grow, and with one kilometre to go in the 16 km race, they were close to a minute clear of the next-closest competition. The battle for first place, however, was very tight, as Bor and Kidanu were still side by side. The Ethiopian managed to find another gear in that closing kilometre, and he crossed the line three seconds before Bor, taking the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile win.

Bor finished second overall, but with his record-breaking result, he earned a bonus of $50,000 for beating Meyer’s 40-year-old mark. This is Bor’s second American title in the last month, adding to the USATF 15K crown he won in early March. 

AMERICAN RECORD* 🚨

Hillary Bor bettered the American record in 46:11 to win the men’s USATF 10 Mile Championship! 🇺🇸

🥇 @borkip – 46:11
🥈 @Biya_simba35 – 47:09
🥉 @jtcougars8 – 47:27#USARC

— USATF (@usatf) April 2, 2023

Hall’s national title 

The women’s race saw a much bigger lead pack in the early stages of the run, with Chelangat, Hall and 12 other athletes running within two seconds of one another in the first 5 km. By the 10 km checkpoint, Chelangat had pulled away from the rest of the field and built a lead of 19 seconds with her 32:28 split.

The battle for second place (and the American title) was still very competitive 19 seconds behind Chelangat, as there were still nine women running in a tight group. Of those nine runners, seven were American, giving Hall and her compatriots’ plenty to fight for in the closing kilometres of the race. 

Sara Hall at the finish for a USATF 10 Mile Championship! 🇺🇸

🥇 @SaraHall3 – 52:37
🥈 @nellrojas – 52:38
🥉 @emmagracehurley 52:41#USARC

— USATF (@usatf) April 2, 2023

After 15 km, Chelangat held an advantage of more than 40 seconds over the chase pack, which at that point had dwindled to four women, all of whom were American. That set up a thrilling final kilometre as the four Americans battled it out for the USATF title. In the end, Hall won the sprint to the line, edging out Nell Rojas by one second with her 52:37 finish. Rojas stopped the clock in 52:38 and Emma Hurley finished as the third American in 52:41. 

For full results from the USATF 10 Mile Championships, click here.