Former local resident qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team

Dakotah Lindwurm cruises to third place in the marathon at Olympic trials

Dakotah Lindwurm, 28, a Hopkins resident who used to live in Burnsville and Eagan, can add Olympian to her list of accomplishments after placing third at the United States Olympic Marathon Trials this month in Orlando, Florida. The finish qualified her for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin July 26.

Lindwurm, who is supported by Puma, ran 26.2 miles in a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 31 seconds to secure her place on the team alongside current American record holder Emily Sisson and Fiona O’Keefe, who won the trials in her marathon debut in 2:22:10.

After the race, Lindwurm recalled her father’s words of encouragement all her life: “‘Anybody can beat anybody on any given day’ and especially during the race when I was passing Betsy and Sarah Hall, I just was telling myself, ‘Hey, I can be just as good as these women and I can make these moves and be confident doing it.’ ”

Wrapped in an American flag during the post-race celebration she said, “Am I going to wake up from a dream?” in a video clip posted to her Instagram account which was filled with reminders of what she accomplished and how tough of a climb it was to reach the pinnacle of distance running – a spot in the Olympic Marathon.

Another special moment caught on camera after the race was between former Olympian and fellow Minnesotan Kara Goucher who was in tears. “You can’t do it until you see it and it’s because of women like you,” Lindwurm said.

Several Minnesotans competed in the trials, including former Rosemount High School and University of Minnesota runner Heather (Dorniden) Kampf (2:41:04) and Burnsville’s Breanna Sieracki (2:43:17).

Lindwurm was a five-year standout goaltender for St. Francis-North Branch hockey team, along with competing in cross country and track.

After walking on to the cross country program at Northern State University in South Dakota, Lindwurm became a multiple-time All-American for the Wolves before becoming a professional runner upon graduation.

Joining up with Minnesota Distance Elite in 2018, she turned her focus to competing in the marathon.

Lindwurm won Grandma’s Marathon in 2021 and 2022 when she was an Eagan resident.