For the last two years, Greenhill sophomore Chelsey Sveinsson has been the show wherever she's competed.
But the 16-year-old elite distance runner will be a back story when she runs in the 1,500 meters today in New York at the Reebok Grand Prix, the fourth stop of USA Track & Field's Visa Championship Series.
That's because Sveinsson, who set the state high school record in the 1,600 last year (4:43.51), will be the only high school athlete in the women's 1,500 at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. Sveinsson will be competing against many of the world's top runners in an 18-person field.
NBC will televise the meet from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, and the women's 1,500 is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m.
"It's the biggest race I've been in, but I wouldn't say it's the race I'm most nervous about," Sveinsson said. "What's there to be nervous about? It's not like I'm expected to win or break some record."
Sveinsson and her mother, Gillian Glengarry, and two of her Greenhill coaches – Mike Krueger and Jason Yaffe – have been in New York since Thursday.
"I want to see how she can do when she has to really work," Glengarry said. "I want to see how she handles it. Instead of everyone chasing her, she's going to be the one chasing. I think she'll eat it up."
Sveinsson said her Greenhill coaches had been seeking a race against top runners so she could be pushed, and they secured a spot for her in the Reebok Grand Prix, an invitation-only event.
Sveinsson said she knew it wasn't just another meet when she saw Tyson Gay – one of the world's top sprinters – roaming in her hotel lobby Thursday. Gay will compete against Arlington Lamar and Baylor product Jeremy Wariner, among others in today's 200.
Sveinsson's competition will be stout as well. Among the field are Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot and Sally Kipyego and two of the United States' top distance runners, Lindsey Gallo and Lauren Hagans. Cheruiyot has the world's fourth-best 1,500 time this year (4:07.41), and Kipyego, who ended her Texas Tech career in mid-March by winning her record-tying ninth NCAA title, ranks 20th in the world (4:10.09). Gallo ranks sixth among U.S. runners this year (4:10.96) and Hagans is eighth (4:14.94).
Sveinsson said she wasn't sure what her best 1,500 time was because she's only run at that distance twice.
"This is going to be a different experience," Sveinsson said. "The women who I will be running against will be above and beyond my level. I'm just going to have fun with it."
