Deena Kastor at the 2007 Boston Marathon |
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| Personal information | ||||||||||
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| Born | February 14, 1973 Waltham, Massachusetts |
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| Residence | Mammoth Lakes, California | |||||||||
| Height | 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) | |||||||||
| Weight | 104 pounds (47 kg) | |||||||||
| Website | http://www.deenakastor.com | |||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||
| Event(s) | Marathon, 10,000m | |||||||||
| College/university team | Arkansas Razorbacks | |||||||||
| Club | Team Running USA | |||||||||
| Coached by | Terrence Mahon | |||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||
| World finals | 2007 10000 m, 6th 2003 10000 m, 12th 2003 10000 m, 11th 1999 10000 m, 11th |
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| Olympic finals | 2000 10000 m 2004 Marathon Bronze 2008 Marathon (DNF) |
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| Personal best(s) |
3000 m: 8:42.59 |
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Medal record
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Deena Michelle Kastor (born Deena Michelle Drossin on February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.
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In high school, Kastor won three California state cross country titles and two CIF California State Meet titles at 3200 metres while running for Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California.[1] She also competed in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships all four years of her prep career. At the University of Arkansas she was a four-time SEC champion and an eight-time All-American. Post-collegiately, Kastor ran under coaches Joe Vigil and Terrence Mahon (currently head of the Mammoth Lakes, California training group).
Kastor has twice been runner up in the World Cross Country Championships.
She holds U.S. records in the following events:
Kastor formerly held the following record:
In recent years, Kastor has shifted her focus toward the marathon distance. After winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Marathon, she won the 2005 Chicago Marathon. In 2006, she won the London Marathon, setting an American record. She placed sixth at the 2006 New York City Marathon and fifth at the 2007 Boston Marathon.
In April 2008, Kastor won the U.S. women's Olympic marathon trials in Boston, Massachusetts. She finished with an unofficial time of 2:29:35, after overtaking competitor Magdalena Lewy Boulet in mile 23. Kastor ran most of the race from behind, while Lewy Boulet built a commanding lead very early on, running alone for most of the marathon. With some 10 miles (16 km) to go, Kastor made a move to catch up to Lewy Boulet, stringing out the field. Lewy Boulet took second place in 2:30:19.
In August 2008, Kastor pulled out of the women's marathon at the Beijing Olympics with a foot injury. At about the 5-kilometer (3.1 mi) mark, she dropped to one knee, holding her right foot. She attempted to rise, but dropped back down again and was forced to withdraw from the race.[2]
Kastor is a featured subject in the 2007 marathon documentary Spirit of the Marathon, which follows her victory at the 2005 Chicago Marathon.[3]
On March 21, 2010, Kastor competed in the first spring running of the NYC Half-Marathon. After running the majority of the race in first, on her way to breaking the course record, she dropped to second place to finish behind Great Britain's Mara Yamauchi.[4][5]
It was announced in August 2010 that Kastor and her husband were expecting their first child, Piper Bloom, in March 2011.[6] It was also announced that Deena will be making her return to racing at the New York Mini 10K.
Kastor was selected as the top women's marathoner in the world in 2006 by Track and Field News magazine.
Among honors Kastor has received from the USATF are:
Kastor is an alumna of Agoura High School located in Agoura Hills, California. She ran collegiately for the University of Arkansas.
She is married to Andrew Kastor. In August 2010, they announced that she was three months pregnant with their first child. As a result, she announced she would not be competing in the upcoming New York City Marathon.
| Year | Event | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 5000 m | – | 9th |
| 1997 | 10,000 m | – | 4th |
| 1998 | 5000 m | – | 7th |
| 1999 | 5000 m | – | 2nd |
| 10,000 m | – | 1st | |
| 2000 | 5000 m | – | 4th |
| 3000 m | – | 4th | |
| 10,000 m | – | 1st | |
| 2001 | 5000 m | – | 4th |
| 3000 m | – | 3rd | |
| Marathon | – | 1st | |
| 10,000 m | – | 1st | |
| 2002 | Marathon | – | 1st |
| 5000 m | – | 4th | |
| 10,000 m | – | 1st | |
| 3,000 m | – | 7th | |
| 2006 | Marathon | 1st | 1st |
| “ | We make choices. I hate to say 'sacrifices.' When I speak to younger groups, to colleges and other younger athletes, I say 'we don't make sacrifices. If we truly love this sport and we have these goals and dreams in the sport, the classroom, or in life, they're not sacrifices. They're choices that we make to fulfill these goals and dreams.' Sacrifices makes it sound like 'oh, poor me, I have to do this in order to get to this,' and I don't really like that word. It was just really the choice to take care of myself and live a proper lifestyle. In doing that, I feel like a healthier person, I feel focused in everything, not just in my running. In following this one dream, I feel like I became an even more well-rounded person. | ” |
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—Deena Kastor |
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| “ | I felt my throat start to close up, and I didn't think I was getting enough oxygen. I was scared, and I thought about quitting. But you don't want to quit when you've trained so hard and long for one race. | ” |
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—Deena Kastor, |
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