EUGENE, Va. -- Just over two weeks ago, Chesterfield's Keira D'Amato got a call from USA Track and Field, bumping her up from alternate to a member of the women's marathon team at the World Championships in Oregon.
D'Amato hadn't necessarily been training for a marathon after setting the American women's record back in January in Houston, Texas, but she accepted the invitation and competed on Monday against the best in the world.
D'Amato spent the entire race in the top ten, along with teammates Sara Hall and Emma Bates.
The race began with temperatures in the mid-50s as the runners completed three laps around a course set up in Eugene, Oregon.
In the end, Ethiopia's Gotom Gebrelase took home the gold with a time of 2:18.11 which set a new World Championship record.
All three American women came home in the top eight for the first time ever.
Hall finished fifth, Bates finished seventh and D'Amato came home eighth with a time of just over 2:23.
This victory came after she finished 14th in the American Olympic marathon qualifier two years ago.
Her American record time of just over 2:19 that she set in January would have been good enough for third on Monday and she has already qualified for the next American Olympic Trials in 2024.
