#509 Every Race is Just a Race - Featuring Michelle Rohl

Michelle Rohl was a 15-time All-American during her time at University of Wisconsin-Parkside and National Champion in the 1000-meter and two-mile during her college middle-distance running career. After trying racewalking for fun, she used it to train when she suffered from Achilles tendonitis. Michelle eventually switched to racewalking, qualifying for the U.S. Nationals in 1989 and finishing 10th.

After having her first child in 1990, Michelle focused on racewalking, becoming a three-time U.S. Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000), winning 22 national titles, and holding every American record from 3k to 30k simultaneously. She retired in 2004 to focus on family and home-schooling, but in 2018, she returned to running, winning the 800m at the Master's Championships.

In 2022, Michelle set multiple American records in distances from 800m to 10k. A concussion in April of 2023 led her back to racewalking, but it took until December for her to recover to full, healthy training. 2024 has been a monumental year where she capped the year by winning four golds at the World Championships and Pan Am Games, setting nine American records and three world records. This mother of five recently became a grandmother at the age of 58 and qualified for the Olympic Trials. She finished third, and though she did not compete in the Paris Olympics, it was the most widely publicized event from the trials.