Karissa Schweizer Named Mizzou Female Athlete of the Decade
Schweizer is a six-time national champion distance runner
4/28/2020
Karissa Schweizer - Mizzou Female Athlete of the Decade
On a brisk and windy morning in late November 2016, junior Karissa Schweizer toed the starting line at the LaVerne Gibson Cross Country Course in Tere Haute, Ind. In the weeks before, the Urbandale, Iowa native had secured her first SEC championship and led the way at the NCAA Midwest Regional, winning by more than six seconds. Despite the dominant pair of races that Schweizer had just assembled, she still had something to prove.
“I knew I could finish in the top five at nationals and I know a lot of people were counting me out of that,” said Schweizer. “I think we went into that with vengeance and we just really wanted to prove people wrong.”
The gun sounded and the field of the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championship was off. Schweizer stuck in the lead pack during the race’s first 5,000 meters.
“When I was in that race, I was in the top five and just had a thought in my head that I wanted more,” she said. “Before I knew it, I was in third and I was like, ‘I want to win this, I don’t want to get third.’”
Schweizer didn’t finish third.
Nearly three and a half years after that morning in Terre Haute, Schweizer is a six-time national champion, 11-time All-American and an American record holder in the indoor 3000m run. She stamped her mark in the Mizzou Athletics history books by becoming the first female athlete in Mizzou history to win multiple NCAA titles. Schweizer’s lasting legacy and total dominance of the cross country and track landscape during her career in Columbia led to her being named the Mizzou Women’s Athlete of the Decade.
“I was very shocked. I didn’t even know it was going on this time. It’s a huge accomplishment. I’m very excited and it’s a huge honor and I love representing Mizzou.”
After all of the ups and downs that cumulated into her decorated career with the Tigers, Schweizer hopes that her experience can help inspire others and athletes who are looking to take their talents to the next step at Mizzou.
“I really hope it inspires other people that go through Mizzou to do the same. I think we’re hitting a new level especially in women’s athletics. I think we’re just tapping into this new competition and new international level,” Schweizer explained. “It’s really cool to see and I love representing Mizzou.”
Schweizer credited the support system she had around her during her four years as a Tiger, explaining that the countless hours and effort behind the scenes propelled her to success in some of the biggest moments of her collegiate career.
“A lot of the things that people don’t see is the support system you have to have around you in order to achieve stuff like that,” she explained. “My coaches, I cannot thank enough. My teammates always being so supportive, my family who came to every one of those events – It just means so much and it does take a lot more than you see out there. And it’s just exciting to see all of that hard work pay off and to be surrounded by the people that have helped you all along the way.”
After her unprecedented career as a Tiger, Schweizer has been competing with the world’s best on the professional circuit. The Mizzou alum became the U.S. record holder in the indoor 3000m on Feb. 27 at the Boston University Last Chance Invitational by pulling away from her Nike Bowerman TC teammates and finishing with a time of 8:25.70. Last fall, Schweizer finished ninth at the IAAF Track & Field World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Her personal best time of 14:45.18 was the fifth-fastest 5000m time among U.S. runners, and the fastest time ever for an American at the World Championships. Schweizer was on track to pursue a spot on the USA 2020 Olympic Team before the Olympic Games were postponed to next summer due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“For the future, obviously my goal is, I just really want to make the Olympic team,” she explained. “Besides that, I really want to be on the podium (whether) that be at the Olympics or be at a world championships level. I think that’s the highest achievement you can get in the sport right now and obviously it’s what everyone is working for and going to be tough, it’s never going to be easy. I think everything is just going to be perfect on that day but it’s ultimately what I’m shooting for and I’d be lying if I said anything else.”
While Schweizer understands the difficulty in running at a world class level, she couldn’t have conceived how the world would be turned upside down by the COVID-19 outbreak. Schweizer has done her best to make the most of the situation and has continued to find ways to train as she pursues next summer’s Olympics.
“It’s been a big adjustment but I think we’ve been working through it very well,” she said. “I have a little home gym set up and my house and I’ve been going on runs solo. I think it’s making me mentally tougher and we’ll come out of it really strong and ready to finally race.”
As she has continued her running career at the highest level, Schweizer has felt the support from Mizzou fans around the world. “It’s so cool to see all of the Mizzou alums who reach out to me after big races or competitions. It’s just such a good support system,” she said. Schweizer explained that Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk reached out to say congratulations after she set the American record in Boston. “I just think that’s really cool of our school and I think we’ve always done a good job at that,” Schweizer said.
I really want to be on the podium (whether) that be at the Olympics or be at a world championships level. I think that’s the highest achievement you can get in the sport right now and obviously it’s what everyone is working for and going to be tough, it’s never going to be easy. I think everything is just going to be perfect on that day but it’s ultimately what I’m shooting for and I’d be lying if I said anything else.Karissa Schweizer
As the leaders of the pack battled the howling wind and focused their mark on the finish line, Schweizer made her move. The Mizzou junior overtook four runners in the race’s final 400 meters, flying past Michigan’s Erin Finn on the final stretch, to capture her first national title.
“I think it just took a while, kind of getting used to the college training and competition,” she said. “Everything really clicked in that cross country race, the 2016 National Championship, when I won my first title. I kind of shocked the world and shocked myself, too. Then after that, the ball got rolling and rolling and it was very exciting just to try to maintain that and maintain that pressure too. It’s honestly been crazy since then.”
