Results USATF Pacific Northwest’s Courtney Olsen, of Bellingham, captured the biggest title of her career on Sunday, winning the women’s race at the 2026 IAU 100 km World Championships in Ames, Spain.
Representing Team USA, Olsen covered the 100 km distance in 7:10:31, defeating Japan’s Miho Nakata by 1 minute, 26 seconds. Nakata earned the silver medal in 7:11:57, while Spain’s Gemma Arenas Alcázar claimed the bronze in 7:17:50.
Olsen patiently worked her way through the field after running in sixth place during the early stages of the race. Nakata established herself at the front early and led for roughly the first 75 km, but Olsen steadily closed the gap as the race entered its final stages.
With 20 km remaining, Olsen had moved into second place but still trailed Nakata by one minute. She continued to apply pressure and surged into the lead during the 17th of 20 laps before holding the advantage to the finish.
Previsoulsy, Olsen had finished fourth at the 2022 and tenth at the 2024 championships. She owns the American record for 100 km, running 6:59:55 in 2025.
The victory was part of a memorable day for Team USA as Colorado's Charlie Lawrence won the men’s world title in 6:09:25, giving the United States a sweep of the individual men’s and women’s championships.