Olympic Trials: Knee problem forces White Plains/Marist racewalker Priore from race

It was a long day or, rather, a short day for Mia Priore Saturday during the women's 20-kilometer racewalk at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon.

Priore has had a quick ascent in the sport, going from a White Plains High School walker (Class of 2022), to two years on the Marist College team, to the Trials.

Saturday, in the quirky town of Springfield, not far from most of the track and field Olympic Trials action at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Priore racewalked on a one-mile loop, passing, in part, a large mural dedicated to the Simpsons television show, whose hometown of Springfield is based on Springfield, OR.

While the Simpsons is a funny show, there was little comical about Priore's day.

The 20-year-old, one of two current Marist students in the 17-athlete race (the other, Marissa Sciotto, finished 12th and Marist grad Katie Miale was 10th) bowed out after about five miles/eight kilometers.

Priore, who beat the odds by making the Trials after missing most of her 2024 season with a knee IT band issue, saw that problem recur a day earlier in practice, then worsen during the race, prompting Marist coach Chuck Williams to pull her, rather than risk making the injury worse.

Additionally, Priore, who missed both the Millrose Games and Penn Relays due to the problem, experienced never-before foot tingling.

Medical staff at the race confirmed the IT band problem and also diagnosed a misalignment of Priore's hips.

Priore said she'd been aware of that problem, which limits her ability to propel forward. But medical staffers Saturday assured her it could be corrected through long-term physical therapy.

As painful Priore's her knee was, it didn't compare, of course, to the mental pain of dropping out of her first Olympic Trials.

But Sunday, while still in Oregon, Priore expressed resolve to get healthy, train and be back at the Trials in four years.

20-year-old makes Trials debut: White Plains native, currently at Marist, set to racewalk at Olympic Trials

"I'm very grateful to be here. No one gave up on me," she said, referring to being sidelined for months with her knee problem and, before that, missing six weeks of training last the fall with pneumonia.

"What I took away from the race is I'll still have more opportunities. I'm very young. There's time to grow and recover," she said, noting her plan for the summer after returning home Monday is to begin more intensive physical therapy and work and train before returning to Marist in the fall for her junior year.

"This is so what I did not want," she said of not finishing the race. "But I'll have another four years of training and growth and there are people who do not have that opportunity."

Nor the opportunity to be among higher-level, more veteran racewalkers and to watch other top track and field athletes compete up close.

Being around "such amazing athletes" has been the highlight of her time at the Trials, Priore noted.

"It's an amazing atmosphere. There are wonderful people," she said. ... "There's such joy. To see people so excited and such high energy, it's beautiful."

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, girls basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy .

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Olympic Trials: Knee problem forces White Plains/Marist racewalker Priore from race