Fort Myers' Krissy Gear unable to finish in 3,000-meter steeplechase at U.S. Olympic Trials

Krissy Gear's quest to go to Paris this summer ended far sooner than she had hoped.

The Fort Myers alum was unable to rebound following a 10th-place finish in the qualifying round of the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Monday and was unable to finish Thursday night's race in Eugene, Oregon. According to an Instagram post from her team, NAZ Elite, Gear suffered a hamstring injury forcing her to drop from the race.

It was only a year ago when Gear took first place on the same course at the USATF Championships, clocking a time of 9:12.81. Valerie Constein, Thursday night's first-place finisher, set a meet record of 9:03.22, nine seconds faster than Gear's personal best. The top nine finishers also ran personal bests, which complicated Gear's path to finishing in the top three.

With Fort Myers, Gear secured six state championships, winning the 1600-meter races as a sophomore, junior, and senior. She added golds in the 3200 as a junior and senior, and the 800 as a senior.

The 24-year-old ran collegiately at Furman and Arkansas, where she first took on the steeplechase and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships as a sophomore. In her junior year, she helped the Razorbacks win the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track title by taking fifth in the 1500 and was a leg on the Arkansas NCAA champion women's distance medley relay team. She placed fourth in the 1500 at the 2022 NCAA outdoor championships.

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin . For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fort Myers' Krissy Gear unable to finish in 3,000-meter steeplechase at U.S. Olympic Trials