Updated: 11:15 AM EDT Aug 3, 2021 Vermont native Elle Purrier St. Pierre raced past the competition in her first-ever Olympic event Sunday night, earning a spot in the event s semifinals. Purrier, who was raised in Montgomery, is competing in the women s 1,500-meter race at the Tokyo Games. She finished third in the event s first competition with a final time of 4:05.34. Her performance puts her just one race away from an Olympic final in the event. Semifinals are scheduled to take place early Wednesday morning. A medal performance would offer a fitting end to the past year and a half that has offered a number of dominant races for Purrier. Over the past 17 months, Purrier has set two separate records on the track. The Montgomery, Vermont, native shattered a 37-year-old record for the fastest U.S. women s indoor mile in February 2020 (4 minutes, 16.85 seconds) and followed it by breaking the two-mile record (9 minutes, 10.28 seconds) earlier this year.She also set the sea
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“We get very teary-eyed, and if I’m not careful, I could do it now,” Purrier said in an interview Monday on the family’s dairy farm.
Purrier told NECN & NBC10 Boston she has been just awestruck by all the lawn signs, the praise in the grocery store and post office, and notes coming in non-stop.
“I appreciate everything everybody does, and all the positive vibes that are coming from everybody,” the proud mother said.
At Montgomery’s recreation center, a hanging banner reads “Go, Elle, Go! Tokyo or bust: leave ‘em in the dust.”
The banner made its debut in the center of town for the Fourth of July parade, which featured an appearance by the dairy farmer-turned-Olympian herself.