Karissa Schweizer

It’s officially that time again: The spreadsheets are out and the ranking formulas are loaded. Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia have returned with the kind of number crunching that would make a tax accountant blush.

Yes — we’re talking about The Ten, and more broadly, the increasingly anxiety-inducing state of the 10,000 meters heading into the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.

Because apparently World Athletics took one look at the event and said, ‘What if we made this harder, more confusing, and fully dependent on vibes, shoe tech, and whether your country’s federation knows how to read the rankings page?’

So here we are. The women’s standard dropped to a vicious 30:20.00. The men’s remains at a world-class 27:00.00. And unless you’re from Kenya or Ethiopia—or somehow running 10Ks on the road in super shoes fast enough to melt tarmac—you’re probably counting on the whims of the World Rankings gods to punch your ticket to Tokyo.

In the U.S., Weini Kelati is still the queen of consistency. Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer skipped The Ten entirely. Elise Cranny has re-entered the picture and Jessica McClain quietly garnered some valuable points by PR’ing by half a minute.

On the men’s side, it’s a little simpler: Grant Fisher, Nico Young, Graham Blanks, and Woody Kincaid are qualified. All they have to do is battle at USAs.

There’s still time. A 10K at Mt. SAC is coming. Maybe Pre will host a last-minute 10K.  So let’s break down who’s up, who’s down, who’s close and who’s hoping UK Athletics doesn’t screw them over again.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Preet Majithia | @preetmajithia on Instagram

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“I know that track is fast and with the energy that the crowd brings and the fields that show up at Millrose, it's going to be a great competition. You go to Millrose to win and you're racing to win. That's what brings the fast times. I'm going to put myself in a position to compete for the win and hopefully walk away really happy.”

My guest for today's episode is Josette Andrews, who is going to be one of the headliners at the 2025 Millrose Games on February 8th at the Armory in New York City. Tickets for the meet are on sale now at millrosegames.org. 

Who else is in the field you might be wondering? As of right now, I have a preliminary entry list. I don't know if some things have changed since these names were added into this document, but we've got Josette Andrews, Karissa Schweizer, Tsige Gebreselama, Whittni Morgan, Courtney Wayment, Katelyn Tuohy, Elly Henes, Sarah Healy, Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Gabbi Jennings, Hilda Olemomoi, Nozomi Tanaka, and so many more competitors and loaded races in the mile, the 800m, the 60m hurdles, and 60m dash. Lots to look forward to. We'll be on-site for that meet. 

In this episode, Josette and I talk a little bit about that because we're both East Coast people. She's from Jersey, 20 minutes away from the Armory, and I'm, of course, a proud New Yorker who will take any opportunity to boast about the Millrose Games. We talk about the energy and atmosphere of the Millrose Games, but then in addition to that, we reflect on Josette's 2024 season, which wasn't perfect. She dealt with a foot injury, which sidelined her throughout spring and forced her to open up her season at the Olympic Trials, which wasn't easy. She ended up finishing 11th in the 5K, did a couple of races after that, but then really took time to heal in the fall. We get an update on how training's been going, her goals for 2025, and what else she's looking forward to this year.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram 

Guest: Josette Andrews | @josettenorris on Instagram

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Karissa Schweizer and Josh Kerr recap their 5th Avenue Mile Wins!

Olympian and Broadcaster Carrie Tollefson steps in today to interview the winners of today's spectacular New Balance 5th Avenue Mile. Hear from them both as they reveal what their strategies were behind their thrilling wins on 5th Avenue this morning, including a course record for Josh Kerr, and a tie with the course record for Karissa Schweizer.

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A fitting theme for the penultimate day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Trials: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

Just ask Monae’ Nichols, who sat in fourth place in the final of the long jump competition. Nichols has a 6.97m personal best from 2022, but heading into Trials she was one centimeter shy of the Olympic qualifying standard with a 6.85m season’s best. In her last jump of the competition, Nichols came up clutch in multiple ways, jumping her way from 5th into 3rd and improving her season’s best to the 6.86m auto-qualifier.

The long jump was full of drama, with eventual champion Tara Davis-Woodhall needing a mark in the third round just to keep jumping and eventually pulling out a 7.00m leap in the fifth round to defend her national title. And three different women held the third position in the final round of competition, with Lex Brown starting the round in third at 6.77m, then Quanesha Burks landing a 6.80m jump, and finally Nichols taking the critical final spot with her final effort. There’s plenty of discourse around what role field events should play in the sport, and the women’s long jump final was a perfect example of why the stakes, drama, and rivalries of the field half of the sport deserve a bigger spotlight.

At the top of the ticket, the 200m finals went largely according to form with Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles defending their U.S. titles in speedy times — 21.81 and 19.53. Both Thomas and Lyles finished third in Tokyo but head into Paris the favorite for gold. Behind Thomas, however, was a wild ride as #2 seed Sha’Carri Richardson was bested by 2019 World silver medalist Brittany Brown and NCAA champion McKenzie Long. Brown is an incredible gamer, making the team with a lifetime best of 21.90, and Long bounced back well after missing the final in the 100m.

The 10,000m drama isn’t just late-breaking; it may continue after the Trials end as Trials champ Weini Kelati secured her spot but 2nd- and 3rd-placers Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer will have to await the final world rankings to know if they have a spot on the Olympic starting line. In the women’s shot put, Tokyo silver medalist Raven Saunders set their third season’s best in the competition after improving from 19.17m to 19.54m in the qualifying round, throwing 19.88m in the first round of the final and 19.90m on the last throw to finish 2nd and secure another spot on Team USA. Trials champ (and 2x World champ) Chase Jackson took home another U.S. title, but it also took her a little extra time and effort as she sat in fourth place halfway through the competition and only secured her Olympic spot with a 20.10m throw in the fourth round.

Even when the eventual outcome is the top seed comes out victorious, a lot of anxiety, drama, and excitement can emerge along the way. The beauty of watching any track and field competition from start to finish is being able to take the roller coaster ride along with the athletes, and to feel the rush they feel when the script gets flipped in the final moments.

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Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.

The CITIUS MAG team is back with its daily podcast covering the 2022 USA Track and Field Championships live from Eugene, Oregon. In this episode, Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, Dana Giordano, Katelyn Hutchison and Jasmine Todd unpack all of the biggest surprises from the first day of action including:

Men's 800m: Why is Donavan Brazier is done for the weekend? Is high schooler Cade Flatt making the team?

Women's 800m: Can anyone crack the top three of Athing Mu, Raeyvn Rogers and Ajee Wilson?

Women's Long Jump: What happened to Tara Davis?

Women's 100m: What's next for Sha'Carri Richardson?

Men's 100m: Why did Fred Kerley just drop a 10.83 in the first round?

Men's Discus Throw: Who made the team?

Men's steeplechase: What's up with American record holder Evan Jager? Is he back?

Men's 1500m: How does Cole Hocker's absence mean for the rest of Team USA?

Women's 1500m: Will there be another New Balance sweep in the final? What does Sinclaire Johnson and Karissa Schweizer have to say?

Women's 400m: What does Allyson Felix being in the race do to her competitors?

Men's 400m: Has Michael Norman been hitting the gym?

+ Much more

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"If you look in the past at world championship races that have been in this type of humidity you never know what can happen and that kind of excites me. I know that racing in hot and humid conditions is really tough but I also know I can game up and I can do it. I like to think my Iowa roots have helped me with that."

Karissa Schweizer is a runner for the Nike Bowerman Track Club and became just the fifth American woman to qualify in the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters at the same Olympics. She was a standout star at Mizzou, where she was a six-time NCAA champion and 10-time All-American. As a professional, she has flashed some range with personal bests of 4:00.02 for 1,500 meters, the indoor 3,000m American record of 8:25.70, her 14:26.34 personal bests for 5,000 meters is the second-fastest in U.S. history. Her 30:47.99 makes the fourth-fastest 10,000m runner in U.S. history. At the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, she pulled off runner-up finishes in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, which she’ll be contesting in Tokyo in just a few days. Hear more about her preparation for the Olympics, why the Trials were so successful, how she handled the Shelby Houlihan news and much more.

📈 Support for this episode comes from WHOOP. WHOOP is offering 15% off with the code “CITIUS” at checkout. Go to WHOOP and enter CITIUS at checkout to save 15%. Sleep better, recover faster and run faster. Get to the start line healthy with WHOOP.  https://join.whoop.com/citiusmag

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HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

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"Whenever I try to sum up what that period was like after Atlanta, it's kind of hard to explain. I didn't drop out of that race to save myself...My legs were obliterated. They were not in good shape after that race. It was heartbreak. Because as runners, running is such a big part of us and part of our identity whether that's a good thing or not. It's not just our job. I felt like I poured everything into that buildup and did everything I could. On that day, it just didn't work out. My body broke down...It is heartbreaking when you invest so much and go all-in for it to not work out. And then to walk away from that race with nothing to look forward to. Even if there was something, I didn't feel good running for a while so it wouldn't have mattered anyway. It was tough. I felt like I failed so badly. I never failed like that before...To pick up the pieces, I was like, 'What can I control? What can I focus on right now?' I was sad for a little bit. I talked to my coach. I talked to my husband. I talked to my chiropractor. My coach, Ray Treacy, said, 'You're going to lose a year of races from the looks of it so invest this time wisely.'"

Olympian Emily Sisson joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast to discuss how she rebounded from dropping out by mile 22 of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2020 to dominating the women's 10,000-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials last month in 31:03.82 for a new meet record. Sisson led for the final 21 laps in 85-degree heat at the new Hayward Field. She ended up winning the race by 13 seconds ahead of Karissa Schweizer and Alicia Monson.

In this episode, you'll hear how she got over the heartbreak from Atlanta and decided to make the most of the pandemic year to train and regroup for the track. She shares insight from how her coach helped her cast any doubt aside and reminded her of what's made her into an NCAA champion, world championship finalist and two-time U.S. champion. Plus a little bit on her plans for the marathon and track and her future...

📈 Support for this episode comes from WHOOP. WHOOP is offering 15% off with the code “CITIUS” at checkout. Go to WHOOP and enter CITIUS at checkout to save 15%. Sleep better, recover faster and run faster. Get to the start line healthy with WHOOP.  https://join.whoop.com/citiusmag

✍️ FULL SHOW NOTES + MORE QUOTES ON CITIUSMAG.com

HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG

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Heather MacLean joins the podcast after making her first Olympic team with a third place finish in the women's 1,500m final in 4:02.09. Her teammate Elle Purrier St. Pierre took the win in 3:58.03 and Cory McGee took the second spot in 4:00.67. The race truly lived up to the hype and Heather shares a bit of her approach and game plan for it.

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber go through the shocking men's 800m where Clayton Murphy took the win in 1:43.17 and reminded the world just how good he is. They also try to make sense of how Donavan Brazier finished last.

We also discuss the women's 5,000 meter final where Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer put together a Bowerman 1-2 and pulled Rachel Schneider to join them on their first Olympic team.

+ Much more...

TUNE IN AND LISTEN TO TRIALS TALK WITH CHRIS AND KYLE. Our daily podcast from the Olympic Trials is presented by Tracksmith.

We’re excited to partner with Tracksmith, an independent running brand fueled by a deep love of the sport. They celebrate the amateur spirit and seek to inspire the personal pursuit of excellence. Tracksmith is pleased to be supporting 30 Olympic Trials qualifiers in Eugene, including athletes across 14 disciplines, as part of their Amateur Support Program.

Check out Tracksmith's essentials for racing and training - including the Strata kits their Trials athletes are racing in this week - at Tracksmith.com/CITIUS and use code CITIUS to receive 10% off any order until the last day of the trials, June 27th.