Who is Parker Valby? All about the Florida runner who broke the 14-year-old NCAA 10k record

Parker Valby is an American cross-country and track-and-field runner who generally competes in the 3000m, 5000m, and 10000m disciplines. She recently broke the 14-year-old NCAA record in the 10000m discipline during the Bryan Clay Invitational in California.

In her debut race in the 10000m discipline, Valby went all guns blazing as she registered a run time of 30:50.43 to dethrone IOWA State's Lisa Koll (31:18.07 in 2010) by a duration of 28 seconds.

Even though the Florida native trailed most of the first half to Calli Thackery, she came back strongly in the second half especially after Thackery went off-track to clinch the title. Jenna Hutchins from BYU finished in the second position, trailing behind Valby by a little less than two minutes.

This also registered Valby's name as the 11th-fastest American of all time in the discipline. Moreover, with the Olympic trials just around the corner in Eugene, Parker Valby will present a strong case for herself in the 5000m and 10000m disciplines.

Even though she couldn't touch the automatic qualification stand of 30:40, Valby will be a force to reckon with at the trials, especially with the way she started off the 2024 season.

Parker Valby: All you need to know about the Florida athlete's career so far

Parker Valby has had one of the most prominent collegiate careers for a track and field athlete. Hailing from East Lake High School, Valby started her career as a swimmer. It was the year 2016 when the Florida native switched from swimming to cross-country running.

However, she made an instant impact as she clinched the Florida State Championships as a junior athlete. After her schooling, Valby started her collegiate career at the University of Florida. So far in her collegiate career, Valby has bagged numerous NCAA Championships.

Her medal tally includes two golds at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston (2024), one gold each at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin (2023) and NCAA Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville (2023).

At the Boston Indoor Championships 2024, Valby ran the 5000m in just 14:52.79 which is the current collegiate record in the discipline. Besides the NCAA Championships, the Florida native has also earned other laurels such as the Honda Sports Award, and was also named the Lance Harter Collegiate Athlete of the Year in 2023.

Recently in 2023, Parker Valby signed a sponsorship deal with the multi-billionaire brand Nike which made her the first collegiate athlete to have such a deal with the brand.