Jordan Hasay sets American record in third place finish at Boston Marathon

It was quite a debut for Jordan Hasay. Running in her first career marathon, the Arroyo Grande native finished third at the Boston Marathon.

Her time of 2:23:00 is the fastest ever for an American woman in a first marathon, breaking the old record by nearly three minutes that was set nine years ago by Kara Goucher.

In addition, her mark today is the thirteenth fastest ever for a woman in a debut marathon regardless of nationality.

Edna Kiplagat of Kenya was the winner with a time of 2:21:52.

After the race, Hasay dedicated her performance to her mother, Teresa, who unexpectedly died last November.

“It’s definitely for her,” Hasay told CBS-affiliate WBZ after the race “I love her so much. She’ll always be with me. I know that a lot of people out there lost loved ones here and so that really just lifted me up, and I was thinking about all of them and I know that they were with us all in spirit and that my mom would be really proud,” Hasay said.

The 2009 Mission Prep graduate is certainly no stranger to records. While in high school, she set the nation record in the 1500 meters. Hasay also won a pair of Foot Locker cross country championships during her legendary prep career.

Before her high school career, Hasay set numerous age group records, establishing herself as one of the all-time great junior runners in American history.

In college, Hasay continued to pile up awards and accolades while attending the University of Oregon. During her time in Eugene, she was named NCAA All-American 15 times. Hasay also won two NCAA National Champions titles (indoor mile, indoor 3,000m).

After competing mostly in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters in college, Hasay began to lengthen her distance events. For a while, she focused on the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Then in late 2016, the 25-year-old decided to move to the marathon. It appears she has made a wise decision.