With the international track and field season concluding last week, it's a good time to acknowledge the excellence of Stanford's alumni in 2024.
With 10 Olympians, two medalists, and one champion, Stanford alums had a memorable year. Valarie Allman became the first American woman to win field-event gold medals in two different Olympics, and Grant Fisher became the first American man to medal in both the 5,000 and 10,000 at a single Olympic Games.
Here is a summary of season achievements by Stanford track and field alumni who actively competed at high levels in 2024 (in alphabetical order, with Stanford graduating class):
Valarie Allman ’17
Allman had a season for the ages. Not only did she capture her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the discus, but she went undefeated in 11 meets, capping her season with a victory at the Van Damme meet in Belgium on Sept. 13. In the Olympic final in Paris, Allman took the lead on her second throw and no one exceeded that distance except herself, winning with an effort of 228-0 (69.50 meters). Allman joined two-time decathlon champ Bob Mathias (1948, 1952) as Stanford’s only double gold-medal winners. While capturing her sixth consecutive U.S. title, Allman threw a season-best 232-7 (70.89) in the Olympic Trials qualifying round – the third-best throw of her career. She has at least the 10 farthest throws ever by an American and won the Diamond League season trophy for the second consecutive year.
Christina Aragon ’20
In her second year with the Bowerman Track Club, Aragon crushed her lifetime bests in the 800, 1,500 and mile. Her 4:04.44 for 1,500 in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, on July 14 was a personal best and the 16th- fastest time by an American this year. Her mile best is now 4:27.74 and her 800 best is 2:01.93. Her 2024 world ranking in the 1,500 of No. 67 also is a lifetime best. Aragon reached the U.S. Olympic Trials 1,5000 final, placing 10th in in 4:06.54.
Olivia Baker ’18
Baker, who runs for the Atlanta Track Club, advanced to the semifinals of the 800 at the U.S. Olympic Trials and was 15th overall in 2:01.50. Her 1:58.95 on June 2 in Gainesville, Florida, was the 10th-fastest by American in 2024. Indoors, she was second at the Millrose Games and fifth at the U.S. Championships.
Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau ’22
Beaudoin-Rousseau is in his second full season as a professional trail and mountain runner, specializing in distances of 50 kilometers or fewer. On Aug. 27, Beaudoin-Rousseau placed fourth in the 20K at the prestigious Hoka UTMB Mont Blanc race in France. The race, regarded as the pinnacle of trail running, included nearly 4,000 feet of climbing. On Aug. 10, he was 25th overall and the second American in the 50K Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland, won the great Killian Jornet.
Maddy Berkson ’18
Berkson achieved her lifetime best in the 1,500 in 2024, clocking 4:07.83 at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis on July 12. The time ranked her No. 33 in the U.S. for the year. Berkson raced the 1,500 at the Olympic Trials, but was unable to advance out of the first round, finishing in 4:17.72 for 34th overall.
Elise Cranny ’18
Cranny made her second Olympic team and placed 10th in Paris in the 5,000 in 14:48.06. Cranny had her three-year winning streak in the 5,000 at the U.S. Championships snapped when she took second at the Trials in a season-best 14:40.36. She also raced in the 1,500 at the Trials in Eugene, Oregon, placing sixth in a personal record 3:57.87. Cranny set a lifetime best in the 3,000 of 8:25.10 on Aug. 22, while placing fourth in the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. The time placed her No. 3 on the all-time U.S. absolute list.
Tai Dinger ’18
In December, 2023, Dinger won the open division at the U.S. Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. On the track, Dinger ran the 5,000 at the Olympic Trials. He did not reach the final, but clocked 13:31.56 for 13th overall. Dinger achieved his personal best in the 5,000 of 13:23.34 at the Portland (Ore.) Track Festival on June 9. He was eighth at the U.S. 20K Road Racing Championships on Sept. 2 in New Haven, Connecticut, running a personal best 1:00.27. Dinger also is a training partner of Elise Cranny.
Ella Donaghu ’21
Donaghu represented the United States at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, helping the U.S. to eighth in the mixed relay. She raced in the 1,500 and the 5,000 at the Olympic Trials. Donaghu was seventh in the 5,000 final in 15:14.27 and advanced to the semifinals in the 1,500, placing 17th overall in 4:09.68. Donaghu set lifetime bests in both distances, running 14:58.39 in the 5,000 (No. 9 on the season U.S. list) at the L.A. Grand Prix and 4:06.98 in the 1,500 (No. 24 on the season U.S. list) on the Sunset Tour, both in Los Angeles.
Madeline Duhon ’11
Duhon, an assistant professor of economics at Pepperdine University, placed 100th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, in a time of 2:47:37.
Malindi Elmore ’02
The 44-year-old mother of two placed 35th in the Olympic marathon for Canada in 2:31.08. It was her third Olympic Games, 20 years after her first. In 2024, Elmore won the Canadian 10K Road Running Championships and was first in Vancouver’s First Half Marathon.
Grant Fisher ’19
Fisher became the first American man to medal in both the 5,000 and 10,000 at a single Olympic Games and makes a case as the greatest distance runner in U.S. history. In a wild finish to the Olympic 10,000 final in Paris in which the top six finished within a second of each other, Fisher took third in 26:43.46 to become the second American to medal in that event since Billy Mills won gold in 1964. Galen Rupp (silver) in 2012 was the other. He followed with another bronze, this time in the 5,000, running 13:15.13 in the final. Fisher won both events at the U.S. Olympic Trials, taking the 10,000 in 27:49.47 and the 5,000 in 13:08.85. Fisher owns absolute American records at four distances: 3,000 meters, two miles, 5,000 meters, and 10,000 meters.
Vanessa Fraser ’17
Fraser, back in the Bay Area and living in San Francisco, ran a season best in the 5,000 of 15:23.39 in the FAST5000 in Maisons-Laffitte, just outside of Paris, on July 6. Earlier, Fraser returned home to race in Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational on April 26, placing fourth in 15:33.37.
Sara Bei Hall ’05
Hall, at age 40, made a bid for her first Olympic team, falling just short with a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, in 2:26:06. Still, Hall was in peak form in 2024, placing 15th in 2:27:58. Another highlight was her 31:32.52 for 10,000 in San Juan Capistrano, California, on March 16. The time ranked her No. 12 on the U.S. season list.
Julia Heymach ’21
Stanford’s school-record holder in the 1,500 ran a season-best at that distance of 4:15.07 at the Portland Track Festival, and had an indoor mile best of 4:39.72 at the Husky Classic in Seattle.
Charles Hicks ’23
Hicks, the 2022 NCAA cross country champion, started off his season with a huge personal best in the 5,000 by running 13:09.38 indoors on a 200-meter track in Boston on Feb. 16. The time placed him No. 6 in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the year. A month later, Hicks achieved his lifetime best in the 10,000, running 27:53.38 in San Juan Capistrano, and finished 2024 as Britain’s second-fastest at that distance.
Allie Jones ’22
Jones placed fifth in the heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Trials, her best U.S. finish. The 6,199-point performance included a personal record of 2:11.03 in the 800 to close it out. The place enabled her to compete in the Thorpe Cup, a multi-events dual meet against Germany, where she placed second with 6,062 points.
Mackenzie Little ’19
Stanford’s two-time NCAA javelin champion made her first Australian Olympic team and placed 12th in Paris at 197-10 (60.32 meters). Dr. Little – she graduated from University of Sydney’s Medical School as an M.D. in 2023 – achieved her lifetime best of 217-1 (66.27) while winning London’s Diamond League meet on Aug. 7. The distance placed Little No. 2 on the season world list. Little won the 2024 Australian and Oceania championships and was among the top two in three Diamond League meets.
Jessica Lawson McGorty ’21
An NCAA outdoor 1,500 finalist at Stanford, McGorty won the elite division of America’s Mile road race in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 4:40, winning $5,000 in prize money. McGorty is a member of the Puma Elite Running Team, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Married to former Stanford runner Brandon McGorty, Jessica also was fifth in the Guardian Mile over the Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sean McGorty ’17
Former NCAA 5,000 champion McGorty placed sixth at that distance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, running 13:18.27. McGorty recorded lifetime bests in the 1,500 (3:33.67), mile (3:53.00), and 3,000 (7:32.79) -- placing fifth in the London Diamond League meet in the latter. His mile time, from the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, placed him No. 9 on the U.S. season list.
Jessica Tonn McLain ’14
McLain came out of nowhere to place fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, running 2:25:46 – a personal record by more than three minutes – as an unsponsored athlete in Orlando, Florida. McClain never was in the top 10 until 21 miles and made up a 2:03 on fourth place over the final 4.2 miles, passing two runners over the final mile. At the Olympic Track and Field Trials, McLain again took fourth, this time in the 10,000 in 32:04.57. On May 11 in Los Angeles, McLain set a lifetime best in the 10,000 of 31:35.28, and on Sept. 2, she was second at the U.S. 20K Road Racing Championships in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1:06.50.
Abbie McNulty ’18
McNulty placed 43rd at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, running a lifetime best 2:37:19.
Rebecca Mehra ’16
Mehra ran a 4:31.39 indoor mile on Feb. 9 in Boston to highlight her season, ranking her No. 35 for that distance in the country for the year. Outdoors, she placed seventh in the 1,500 in a season best 4:12.56 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix.
Fiona O’Keeffe ’20
O'Keeffe smashed the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials record in her debut at the distance to secure a spot in the Paris Games. O'Keeffe made an ambitious break with more than seven miles to go to win by more than half a minute in 2:22:10, an Olympic Trials record that achieved the Olympic time standard. O'Keeffe broke the American marathon trials mark of 2:25:38 set by Shalane Flanagan in 2012 in Houston. In Paris, O’Keeffe tried to make a go despite an injury, but did not finish. However, she recovered to place third on Sept. 15 in the Philadelphia Half Marathon, running 1:11:11. In May, O’Keeffe ran 31:03.46 over 10,000 in London. It was the fourth-fastest time by an American in 2024.
Udodi Onwuzurike ’25
The fastest man in Stanford history made his Olympic debut, reaching the semifinals in the 200 while competing for Nigeria. Onwuzurike initially did not advance out of the first round, but won his repechage heat in 20.51 to reach the semis, and placed 20th overall. Onwuzurike won the 100 at the USATF New York City Grand Prix in 10.24, and ran a season 200 best of 20.13 to win the PURE Athletics Elite Invitational in Clermont, Florida. Onwuzurike, the 2023 NCAA 200 champ, won the 2024 Nigerian title at that distance, in 20.68.
Alex Ostberg ’19
An All-American at Stanford, Ostberg ran a personal best 49:45 while placing 20th in the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, D.C.
Thomas Ratcliffe ’20
In the first round of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Ratcliffe ran 13:35.13. Though he did not advance, Ratcliffe placed 20th overall. Ratcliffe opened his year by running an absolute lifetime best for 5,000 of 13:14.64 on a 200-meter indoor track in Boston on Feb. 16. Two weeks later, he tore off an indoor two-mile PB of 8:16.55. He closed out his year on July 7 with a lifetime best 7:37.92 for 3,000 at a meet in Paris.
Jacob Riley ’11
A Tokyo Olympic marathoner, Riley was unable to finish at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida. Riley placed 10th in the Chicago Half-Marathon in 1:05:11.
Kaitlin Ryan ’21
Ryan ran a season 800 best of 2:05.51 at the Adrian Martinez Classic in Concord, Massachusetts.
Garrett Starkey ’16
Starkey cleared a season-best 17-5 ½ (5.32) in the pole vault at a meet in Chula Vista, California.
Katerina Stefanidi ’12
Competing in her third Olympic pole vault final, Stefanidi placed ninth in Paris at 15-5 (4.55). In her incredible career, Stefanidi was an Olympic champion (2016), world champion (2017), two-time world outdoor medalist, two-time world indoor medalist, three-time Diamond League champion, and three-time European champion. She achieved her 2024 best of 15-6 ¼ (4.73) in placing second at the European Championships in Rome. Stefanidi will be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 18.
Melissa Tanaka, M.S. ’23
Tanaka achieved a lifetime best in the mile, running 4:31.54 at the Hoka Festival of Miles in St. Louis. The time placed her No. 39 in the U.S. for the year. Tanaka’s season 1,500 best was 4:12.52 at the Track Fest in Los Angeles on May 11.
Harrison Williams ’18
Competing in his first Olympic Games, Williams placed seventh in the decathlon, scoring 8,538 points and finishing as the top American. Williams was in danger at the Olympic Trials of not making the U.S. team, but unleashed a personal best javelin throw of 194-10 (59.39) in the ninth event to solidify his third-place position and earn a trip to Paris. He closed his Olympic decathlon with a lifetime best 4:19.58 in the 1,500 to secure seventh. Williams qualified in the heptathlon for the World Indoor Championships in Scotland, but an ankle injury suffered at the finish of the 60 prevented him from finishing the competition.