Desiree Linden

Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden (née Davila; born July 26, 1983) is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.

Desiree Linden
Linden in Berlin. 2009.
Personal information
Birth nameDesiree Davila
Nickname(s)Desi[1]
Des[2]
NationalityAmerican
Born (1983-07-26) July 26, 1983[1]
San Diego, California[1]
Education
Occupationlong-distance runner
Years active2006–present
AgentJosh Cox
Height5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)[1]
Weight100 lb (45 kg)[1]
Spouse(s)Ryan Linden[1]
Other interestscollecting whiskey and tapestries[1]
Sport
Country United States
SportAthletics
Event(s)10,000 meters, Half marathon, Marathon
College teamArizona State Sun Devils
ClubBrooks[1]
Coached byWalt Drenth[1]
Achievements and titles
World finals
  • 2009
    Marathon, 10th[3]
National finals
  • 2008
    Marathon, 13th
  • 2012
    Marathon,  Silver
  • 2016
    Marathon,  Silver
Olympic finals
  • 2012
    Marathon, DNF
  • 2016
    Marathon, 7th
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place2015 Toronto10,000 m
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2018 Boston Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2010 Chicago Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2011 Boston Marathon

Early career

Desiree Davila was born in San Diego, California.

High school

In high school Davila ran track and cross country, and played soccer.[1] She ran a sub-5 minute mile as a high school freshman and graduated from Hilltop High School in 2001.[1] At the CIF California State Meet she was a finalist all four years. In both 1998 and 1999 she was 8th in the 1600.[4] 1999 saw her also attempt to double in the 800 meters, finishing last after being depleted from the 1600. In 2000, she improved that to 5th. Her best finish was 4th in 2001 in the 3200.[5]

College

Linden studied psychology at Arizona State University, and was a two time All-American in track and cross country.[6] She finished third at the 2005 Pac-10 5,000m Collegiate Championships (16:59.93).[1]

Professional career

Linden runs for the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Michigan. She is represented by agent Josh Cox and is sponsored by Coros Global, Powerbar, Oakley, Boston Beer Company, and Brooks Running.[7]

Career highlights:

2006–07
2008–09
  • Linden finished second at the 2008 Houston Half Marathon and ran her personal best time of 1:12:10. This time qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials.[8]
  • At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Boston in 2008, she finished 13th in 2:37:50.
  • Later at the track portion of the Olympic Trials in Eugene, she ran tenaciously with the leaders of the 10,000 meters before fading to 11th.[9]
  • At the 2008 Chicago Marathon, Linden finished 5th in 2:31:33.
  • On August 23, 2009 Linden finished tenth at the IAAF World Championship in the marathon and set a personal record by 3 minutes. Her time of 2:27:53 was the second-fastest American woman.[3]
2010–11
  • She finished second at the 2010 Chicago Marathon, setting a personal record by one minute. Her time of 2:26:20 was the fastest American woman.
  • Linden came in third at the 2010 USA Championships 10,000m (32:22.32)[1]
  • Linden finished second at the 2011 Boston Marathon by just two seconds and set a personal record by four minutes.[1] Her time of 2:22:38 was then the fastest time ever run by an American woman in the Boston Marathon. After her success in Boston she was invited to throw the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game.[1]
2012–13
  • She finished second in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials January 14, 2012 in Houston, TX with a time of 2:25:55.[10] which qualified her to run the marathon at the 2012 London Summer Olympics on August 5, 2012, but did not finish.[11] Her Olympic failure was attributed to a stress fracture of the femur.
  • 2013 marked her return to competition, finishing second at the USATF Half Marathon Championships.
  • At the 2013 Berlin Marathon, Davila finished fifth, winning her age group, in 2:29:15.[12] For this accomplishment, she was selected the USATF Athlete of the Week.[13]
2014–15
2016
Desiree Linden finishing the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon
2017
  • On March 19, she placed 7th at the New York Half Marathon, finishing in 1:11:05.[22]
  • On April 17, she finished 4th in the 2017 Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:25:06, with the leader Edna Kiplagat winning in 2:21:52.[23]
2018
Des Linden near halfway point of Boston Marathon 2018 in which she placed 1st.
2019
2020
2021
  • On April 13, she completed a 50K in 2:59:54, becoming the first woman ever to run 50 km under 3 hours and breaking the world record (previously 3:07:20 by Aly Dixon on September 1, 2019). This was Linden's first ultramarathon.[30][31]
2022
  • On April 18, she completed the 2022 Boston Marathon in 2:28:47, taking 13th overall and 3rd among the American women.[32]
2023

Personal bests
SurfaceEventTimeDateLocation
Outdoor track 5,000 m15:08.64August 6, 2011London, England
10,000 m31:37.14June 23, 2011Eugene, Oregon
Indoor track 3,000 m8:51.08March 12, 2010Doha, Qatar
Road 20 km1:07.08March 18, 2012New York, New York
Half marathon1:10.34January 16, 2011Naples, Florida
30 km1:43.50October 10, 2010Chicago, Illinois
Marathon2:22:38April 18, 2011Boston, Massachusetts

Personal life

Linden is an aficionado of bourbon.[36] One of her role models is Deena Kastor.[1]

She married marathoner Ryan Linden in 2013.[37]

References
  1. "USA Track & Field - Desiree (Desi) Linden". usatf.org.
  2. Miller, Jen A. (November 1, 2018). "After Boston, Des Linden Tries to Conquer New York". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. "IAAF: Marathon Result - 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics - iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. California State Meet Results - 1915 to present Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  5. "State Finals - 2001". www.prepcaltrack.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  6. Arizona State Official Athletic Site: Arizona State University Player Bio: Desiree Davila Arizona State University. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  7. "Desiree Linden | Boston 2018 Winner". Brooks Running. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  8. 2008 U. S. Olympic Team Trials – Women’s Marathon: Athlete Bios: Desiree Davila Archived March 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  9. "USATF - Events - 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field". www.usatf.org.
  10. "Keflezighi, Flanagan run to victory at U.S. Olympic marathon trials". Sports Illustrated. CNN/AP. January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  11. NBC broadcast coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics
  12. 40 BMW Berlin Marathon Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  13. http://www.legacy.usatf.org/News/DESI-DAVILA-NAMED-USATF-ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK.aspx Desi Davila named USATF Athlete of the Year] USA Track & Field Retrieved October 9, 2013
  14. Overall Women TCS New York City Marathon. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  15. http://www.baa.org/error-404.aspx?reqUrl=/2015/cf/public/pg_MobileAthleteTrackCurrentLeaders.cfm Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  16. (June 25, 2015), Women 10000 Meter Run SR Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  17. 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon/Results Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  18. 2016 U.S. OhioHealth Capital City Half Marathon - 2016 USATF Half Marathon Championships Results Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  19. 2016 U.S. Ohio Health Capital City Half Marathon - 2016 USATF Half Marathon Championships Results Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  20. "RIO 2016 ATHLETICS MARATHON WOMEN RESULTS". olympics.com. Olympic Games. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  21. Paul Myerberg (August 14, 2016). "Shalane Flanagan leads three Americans in top 9 of Olympic women's marathon". usatoday.com. USA Today.
  22. "New York Road Runners Official Race Results". results.nyrr.org. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  23. Rapp, Timothy (April 17, 2017). "Boston Marathon 2017 Results: Men and Women's Top Finishers on Patriots' Day". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  24. D'Andrea, hristian (April 16, 2018). "2018 Boston Marathon: Des Linden is first American woman to win since 1985". SBNation. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  25. Sarah Lorge Butler (November 4, 2018). "Desiree Linden Finishes Sixth at the 2018 NYC Marathon". runnersworld.com. Runner's World. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  26. "Top Finishers - Boston Athletic Association - BAA.org". raceday.baa.org. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  27. "Top Finishers - 2019 Boston Marathon results Leaderboard". boston-iframe.r.mikatiming.net.
  28. Erin Strout (November 3, 2019). "Des Linden, First American Finisher, Takes a Big Swing at the 2019 NYC Marathon". womensrunning.com. Women's Running. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  29. "U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon Live Results". track.rtrt.me.
  30. "Des Linden Sets the 50K World Record". April 13, 2021.
  31. "Des Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon champion, sets world record for 50k race".
  32. "2022 Boston Marathon results". April 18, 2022.
  33. "2023 Boston Marathon results". olympics.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  34. Matt Bonesteel; Cindy Boren (April 17, 2023). "Evans Chebet, Hellen Obiri make it a Kenyan sweep". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  35. "Marathon Master At 40: Des Linden Breaks American Masters Record At Chicago Marathon". October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  36. Irvine, Heather Mayer (August 11, 2016). "Eat Like an Elite: Desi Linden". Runner's World.
  37. "Petoskey Wedding Photographer // Ryan Linden & Desiree Davila!". August 29, 2013.
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