Grace Ping Runs Two Seconds Off World Record
Seventh-grade phenom Grace Ping ran 9:46.29 for 3K on Saturday at the USATF Minnesota Indoor Meet #4. The time ranks No. 4 in the nation this year and is just two seconds off the World Record for the 12-year-old age group [Emily Pidgeon, 9:44.39, 1989].
Even if she had run slightly faster, the race would not count for record purposes because it was in a mixed gender field.
The accomplished young Ping, who holds multiple age group World Records, ran the race just five hours after competing in a 3K Nordic Classic cross country skiing race.
The run is the first high-profile result for the young star from Winona Cotter, Minn. since shocking the world with her cross country prowess this fall when she was the youngest All-American at NXN with a 14th-place finish.
Full results from the USATF Minnesota Indoor Meet