Tokyo 2025 Preview #8: Emily Infeld’s Long Road Back to the World Stage

This is a piece on Emily Infeld, who won her first US title at the age of 25, ten years after winning a WC bronze medal in Beijing. Now, Emily is in Tokyo, preparing for the 10,000 meters at the 20th World Outdoor Athletics Championships. 

Tokyo 2025 Prevew #8: Emily Infeld’s Long Road Back to the World Stage

When Emily Infeld crossed the line at Hayward Field in Eugene this summer, the clock read 31:43.56.. It was not her fastest mark, and it was not her most dramatic finish, but it carried the weight of a career that has spanned triumph, disappointment, and years spent chasing form and health. Her victory in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Championships secured what will be her fifth World Championship team, and it reopened a conversation that began a decade ago when she stood on the podium in Beijing with a bronze medal around her neck.

Infeld is 35 now, seasoned by time and setbacks, but the joy on her face that night in Eugene mirrored the wide-eyed celebration of 2015. Then she had shocked the track world by slipping past her teammate Molly Huddle in the final meters to claim third in the world. The result gave American distance running a fresh star and marked her as an athlete capable of competing with East Africa’s best. Ten years later, she returned to the same distance, running nearly the same time she had in Beijing, and in doing so revived the possibility of adding to her medal haul.

This season has been uneven for Infeld, which made her national title all the more meaningful. In June she finished 11th at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, more than 10 seconds slower than her winning time at the Trials. In May she had dropped out of the 5,000 at the Track Fest in Los Angeles, a race that exposed the fragility that often shadows an aging runner. Her spring campaign included a 15:26 clocking in Kingston, an encouraging step yet not the sort of performance that points to a global medal threat. Against that backdrop, her 31:43 at the Trials felt like a breakthrough.

Behind her in Eugene, Olympian Elise Cranny finished second, and Taylor Roe managed third in 31:45. Reigning champion Weini Kelati placed fourth in the same time as Roe. The depth of the field underscored the significance of Infeld’s win. She had entered the meet without a qualifying mark for the World Championships,…