Birthday: 10/24/88 Mile PR: 4:20.70 - 2018
Metric Mile (1500m) PR: 4:01.33 - 2021
High School: Marlborough High (CA) '07
Hometown: Santa Monica, CA
College: Yale University '11
Current Residence: Boulder, CO
Kate Grace retired as a professional runner in July 2024 after finishing as an 800m finalist at the U.S. Olympic Trials (in the semi heat, she fell at the finish line after bumping with another runner).
In 2022, she did not race due to the effects of COVID-19. In September, she wed Patrick O'Neil, and on March 5, 2023, the pair welcomed a baby boy, River Grace O’Neil.
In 2021, Kate won her first Diamond League race, setting a 800m personal record of 1:57.60 and beating the reigning world champion Halimah Nakaayi in Oslo, and eight days later, set another 800 PR in 1:57.20 to finish third at the Herculis Meet in Monaco. At the Diamond League meet in Gateshead, she won the Millicent Fawcett Mile in 4:27.20. She closed her racing campaign with a 1500m win and PR of 4:01.33 at the ISTAF Berlin meet.
In September 2019, she won the 1500 meters at The Match, USA vs. Europe meet, clocking 4:02.49.
In 2017, Grace was the runner-up at the NYRR Wanamaker Mile in 4:22.93 (#7 world and #4 U.S. all-time indoors). In 2016, she won the 800 meter title at the U.S. Olympic Trials, posting a personal record 1:59.10 to earn her first berth on Team USA for the Rio Olympics, and in Rio, Grace finished 8th in the Olympic 800 meters (1:59.57).
In 2013, Kate won her first U.S. title at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships, clocking 4:43.02, and also setting a course record at the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines, IA. At the 2013 Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile, Kate placed third and ran a then personal record 4:28.79 and became the 43rd U.S. woman to run sub-4:30.
The four-time All-American at Yale also set school records in the Mile (4:39.52) as well as the 800 meters (2:03.41) and 1500 meters (4:20.66).
FUN FACT: Kate's mother is Kathy Smith, a fitness icon who has sold more than 16 million fitness videos.
"It’s just more time for Jerry and I to get to know each other and for us to work together so that it’s training in his system but he’s continuing to train me to be the best athlete that I can. And I’m optimistic about that.”
By Sieg Lindstrom, Track & Field News
In the groove, rarin’ to make...
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First-time champions at historic indoor race hold off challengers to claim trophies
By Athletics Weekly
Chris O’Hare won the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the 111th NYRR Millrose Games, becoming the first British man since John Whetton in 1965 to claim victory in the race.
Clocking 3:54.14,...
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“Even if I didn’t envision this path, I always had coaches telling me, ‘You can do this in college; you can even do this after. My mom had cheerleading available in high school; she is fitter than most of us, but of course she wasn’t told that. But I was told it, and I believed it.”
By Lindsay...
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“I have to go all in. I have to be unapologetic about having goals and wanting them."
By Adelle Jackson-Gibson, Excelle Sports
Four years ago we might not have been professional athletes, but we had all the aspirations in the world — some larger than others of course. One summer at Yale, Kate...
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Mother Kathy Smith, fitness icon, "has been the ultimate role model for my track career.”
By SPIKES powered by IAAF
Kate Grace is the 2013 USA Road Mile champion and a World Relays 4x1500m silver medalist, but she's still only the second most famous person in her family. Her mother, Kathy...
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Oiselle star looks to take another big step forward in 2014
By Scott Bush, RunnerSpace.com
The definition of a breakout season just so happened to be Kate Grace's 2013 track season. The Oiselle-sponsored middle distance runner set PRs in the 800m, 1500m, Mile and won the USA 1 Mile Road...
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The four-time All-American at Yale is beginning to believe anything is possible
By Duncan Larkin, WomensRunning.com
Watch Kate Grace run a few laps around a track and you will immediately conclude that she has a fitting last name.
A four-time NCAA All-American while at Yale, Grace has been...
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By Scott Bush, Runnerspace
What a season it's already been for middle distance standout Kate Grace. The former Yale All-American, and current NJ-NY Track Club athlete, is taking her talent to a new level in 2013, running U.S. top three times in the 1500m and Mile during the indoor season. Under...
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Multiple records topple in the Armory Saturday night as high school phenom Mary Cain betters her own U.S. record, while Lomong and O’Hare take the storied race into new terrain.
By Duncan Larkin, Mile wire
NEW YORK – Under the bright lights and amidst the roaring of a sold-out crowd at the...
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