Bigfork native Makena Morley to run in U.S. Olympic Team Trials this weekend

Bigfork native Makena Morley will run in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon this weekend in the women’s 10,000 meters. If Morley finishes in the top three, she will represent the United States at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo next month. Viewers can watch Morley in action at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 26 live on the Olympic Channel and NBCOlympics.com. The race was originally scheduled for that evening, but was moved up due to forecast temperatures. The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials began June 18 and will run through June 27 at Hayward Field.

Morley, a four-time high school cross-country champion turned professional distance runner, signed a pro deal with shoe company Asics last summer and relocated to Boise to train with the professional running group, Idaho Distance Project.

After graduating from Bigfork High School, Morley continued running at University of Colorado-Boulder where she helped her team to a first-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships. However, Morley lost out on her senior track season due to the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in the last-minute cancelation of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Morley could have opted to stay on another year since she still had another year of eligibility on the team, but decided to move forward, heading to Boise to continue training there. Morley was unavailable for comment before press time.

A full schedule of events for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials can be found at www.usatf.org.