Former Duck Alexi Pappas sets Greek national record in Olympic 10,000 final

This morning’s Olympic women’s 10,000-meter final in Rio wasn’t just fast, it was historically fast. When the 6.2-mile race was over, a world record and eight national records had fallen.

One of those new national records now belongs to former Duck Alexi Pappas, who is competing for Greece. Pappas finished 17th in the race in a time of 31:36.16, shattering her own national record of 31:46.85 back at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May.

Pappas had this to say after the race (from the Register Guard)

“It was the best experience of my life so far,” said Pappas, who lives in Eugene and is a member of Oregon Track Club Elite. “I ran a race to my potential and I made me feel proud.”

Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana took home the gold medal in a world record time of 29:17.45, beating her next competitor by over 15 seconds. She also took about 14 seconds off the previous world record of 29:31.78, set by China’s Junxia Wang in 1993.