Vermont dairy farmer and track star Elle Purrier St. Pierre will compete at the Olympic Games for an impressive second time this year. St. Pierre finished 10th in the women’s 1,500-meter race at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and recently qualified for Team USA after setting a new meet-performance record at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
St. Pierre grew up on a dairy farm in Montgomery, Vermont. She was an active kid, participating in skiing, softball, soccer and basketball, not to mention the daily chores around the farm. She fell into running by accident.
One day during basketball practice, the team was told to take a one-mile fitness run. St. Pierre easily outpaced the whole team and Richard Flint, the assistant basketball coach and head track coach, was intrigued. By the following spring, she was in full-training mode, running behind Flint’s truck down dirt roads. “I basically blew everybody out of the water,” she said. “I didn’t look back after that.”
St. Pierre went on to run cross country in both high school and college. She was three-time Vermont Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year in high school. At the University of New Hampshire, she was NCAA champion and an 11-time All-American. She was also America East Scholar of the Year two years in a row.
Elle married her childhood sweetheart, Jamie St. Pierre, in 2020. The two grew up on neighboring farms and even competed against each other at 4H events. She continued to race as well, eventually qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. At the 2020 USA Olympic Trials, she won the gold medal in the 1,500 meter with a time of 3:58.03, setting a personal best and breaking the meet record. She finished 15th at the Olympic Games that August.
In 2022, she made headlines again for winning the bronze medal at the USA Outdoor Championships while several weeks pregnant. Her son Ivan was born in March 2023 and less than a year later, she was already collecting new medals. St. Pierre in 2024 has so far set an American record in the mile, another in the two mile, and a third with the 3,000 meter win at the World Championships.
Today, St. Pierre and her husband are in the process of taking over his parent’s dairy operation while raising their son. Oh, and training for the Olympics!
In a recent interview, she reflected on how her thinking has changed. “I used to think I ran because of my competitive nature, but now I’m like, no, I’m just totally addicted to running. I just love it. It’s my passion. It’s my routine. It’s something that makes me feel good about myself,” she says. “But also now that I’m a mom, I run a lot for Ivan,” she adds.
“I feel like everything I do in my life right now is something that I really enjoy,” St. Pierre says. “I love being a mom, I love being a runner, and I love being a farmer.” She’s also excited that her husband and son can be there to support her during this summer’s Olympics, which wasn’t possible last time because of Covid restrictions.
Though St. Pierre qualified in two distances, she will focus only on the 1,500-meter in Paris. She is considered a serious contender for a medal. You can follow St. Pierre on her Olympics’ bio page HERE.
