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Weini Kelati is a four-time national champion, Olympian, and American record holder in the women’s half marathon. For the second year in a row Kelati broke the American record at the 2025 Houston Half, running 1:06:09. The year prior she ran 1:09:25 in her debut at the distance, which was her first American record. 

A versatile athlete on the roads and on the track, Kelati has won four national titles at the 2021 and 2022 USATF 5K Championships, 2024 USATF Cross Country Championships, and the 2024 USATF 10,000 meters Championships, which punched her ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

In Paris she finished in eighth place as the top American in the 10,000 meters. She will be making her Mastercard New York Mini 10K debut but has been successful in her previous trips to New York City finishing in the top five for each of her three USATF 5K Championships appearances.

Prior to turning professional, Kelati had a standout collegiate career at the University of New Mexico where she won two national titles and was a 13-time All-American. She was born in Eritrea and came to the U.S. to compete at the 2014 Junior World Championships and never returned home. She intentionally missed her flight and moved to a relative’s in Virginia, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2021.