By: Emily Chu

Keira D’Amato has long been a star in the marathon. In January 2022, D’Amato finished the Houston Marathon with a record-breaking time of 2 hours 19 minutes and 12 seconds, beating a record set in 2006. If you didn’t know the backstory, this may not be surprising at first glance.

In 2009, injuries ended D’Amato’s racing career. For the next few years, D’Amato often questioned her ability to compete again. She was still able to run, but she did so for different reasons. It wasn’t much a competition anymore. As a 37-year-old mother of two, it’s hard to get back on track after missing out for so long.

But now, she isn’t just running for fun. Competing in the Olympics; representing the US in international competitions; participating in the marquee marathon…by the time the Paris Olympics in 2024 begin, D’Amato will be 40.

D’Amato has been working hard to reach these goals. In 2016, she participated in the Shamrock Marathon at Virginia Beach, finishing with a time of 3:14:54. The next year, she competed in the Richmond Marathon with a time of 2:47:00, two minutes short of the Olympics qualifying time. In February of 2020, she ran a time of 2:34:24 in the Olympic trials, finishing 15th.

As D’Amato crossed the finish line first in the Houston Marathon, she thought that maybe all that training has been worth it. It had always been her dream to compete in these races, but the podium evaded her. D’Amato believed that if you worked hard, perhaps everything would be worth it.

The marathon runner has come a long way after such a lengthy rest.

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