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U.S. steepler Colleen Quigley wins her first triathlon

Not surprisingly, Quigley's best performance was in the run

colleen quigley

It’s been a minute since U.S. steeplechaser Colleen Quigley, 31, graced running headlines; the former model, Bowerman Track Club athlete, national champion, Rio Olympian and world record holder (in the 4 x 1,500m relay) struggled with injury and change in 2021 and 2022, leaving Bowerman and Nike and becoming the face of the running and yoga brand Lululemon. She’s been posting lots of swimming and cycling content on her Instagram, and on Saturday, Quigley won her first-ever triathlon–the development/draft-legal sprint distance at the Tritonman event in San Diego. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Colleen Quigley (@steeple_squigs)

The event Quigley won consisted of a 0.75 km swim, a 20 km bike ride and a 5K run; her finishing time was 1:05:59. Not surprisingly, her best result was in the run, which she finished first, in 19:02 (3:48 per km pace). She was eighth in the bike portion (34:04) and 18th in the swim (11:33). Her first transition was 40 seconds, and her second was slightly faster, at 37s.

For years, Quigley has cross-trained in the pool and on the bike as a way to stay fit while rehabbing various running injuries, including hamstring strains and plantar fasciitis.

Judging by the enthusiasm of her recent posts (not to mention her results), it looks like Quigley has found herself a new sport (and the event earned her her pro card)–though she has also said she plans to return to the track, with a view to competing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Quigley won the NCAA steeplechase title in 2015, running for Florida State University, and signed with Bowerman that year; she finished 12th in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2015 world championships in Beijing. In 2016, she finished eighth in the event at the Rio Olympics. According to World Athletics, she ran her personal best time of 9:10.27 in 2018.

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