NCAA

Amina Maatoug: Blue Devil of the Month

Amina Maatoug: Blue Devil of the Month


Amina Maatoug arrived at Duke last summer as a transfer from a university in her hometown of Leiden, Netherlands. It didn’t take her long to impact the Duke Athletics community as she has already earned All-America honors in two sports with another major season just getting underway.

A middle distance runner, Maatoug emerged as the top performer for the women’s cross country team in the fall, placing fourth at the ACC Championships, sixth at the Southeast Regional and 28th at NCAA nationals, which merited All-America recognition.

Her recently-completed indoor track and field season was even more impressive. 

During the early portion of the schedule, Maatoug knocked down two longstanding school records. A couple of weeks after competing at the NCAA cross country meet, her indoor track debut saw her break the Duke 3000 meters mark with a time of 8:55.62. Then in February she became the fastest indoor miler in Duke history with a mark of 4:32.54. It’s worth noting that the two previous record-holders in those events — Kate Van Buskirk (3K) and Shannon Rowbury (mile) became Olympians after their Duke careers ended. Van Buskirk’s mark had stood for 12 years, Rowbury’s for 16 years. 

During the postseason, Maatoug shone brightly at the ACC indoor championships. She took second place in the 3000, third place in the 800 (with the second fastest time in Duke history) and was a member of the DMR (distance medley relay) squad that won the ACC title and smashed the conference record. She was named the women’s track MVP of the meet.

At NCAA indoor nationals, Maatoug earned first-team All-America honors in the mile with a seventh-place finish, then an hour after that race ended brought home second-team All-America recognition with a 14th place showing in the 3000. 

Outdoor track season is just getting started with two meets in the books. After placing second in the ACC indoors, the Duke women debuted at No. 4 nationally in the first outdoor team rankings of the spring season.

Maatoug is classified as a sophomore for athletic eligibility and brought a host of impressive credentials with her to Duke this year, including Dutch championships in U20 cross country, U20 800 meters, U18 800 meters (three times) and U18 steeplechase.

CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at Duke University…