Elinor Purrier St. Pierre (born February 20, 1995) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. She won a gold medal in the 3000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Purrier also represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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Elle Purrier St. Pierre

Purrier after winning silver at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 3000 metres
Personal information
Birth name	Elinor Purrier
Full name	Elinor Purrier St. Pierre
Nationality	American
Born	(1995-02-20) February 20, 1995 (age 29) Montgomery Center, Vermont, U.S.
Height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	1500 m One mile 3000 m 3000 m steeplechase 5000 m
College team	New Hampshire
Club	New Balance Boston
Turned pro	2018
Coached by	Mark Coogan
Medal record Women's athletics Representing the  United States World Indoor Championships 2024 Glasgow 3000 m 2022 Belgrade 3000 m

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Purrier was raised in Montgomery Center, Vermont, a small town near the Canadian border.^[1][2] She lived on a dairy farm, where she woke up at 5 a.m. each day before school to milk cows and perform other chores, such as throwing hay bales and caring for pigs.^[1][3] At Richford High School, Purrier took up running alongside basketball. She competed at a high level in track and cross country, with first-place finishes at the New England Cross Country Championships and Northeast Regional championships for the Nike Cross Nationals. She was named Vermont Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year three times, receiving the honor in 2010, 2011, and 2012.^[4] Purrier was later inducted into the hall of frame of the Vermont Principals' Association in 2022, an organizing body for high school sports.

Purrier competed for the University of New Hampshire from 2013 to 2018, where she was NCAA champion and an 11-time All-American.^[5] As a freshman, she ran 4:36 in the mile.^[6] By her sophomore year, she improved her time to 4:29.71, setting a school record and achieving one of the top ten fastest times by a collegiate athlete. Her fast time in the mile marked her as a favorite to win the event at the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships.^[6] At those championships, she finished third after leading for much of the race but was overtaken in the final stretch.^[7] Later that year, Purrier improved one place to take second in the mile at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Following several podium finishes at previous NCAA championships, Purrier won a title in the mile at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, finishing in 4:31.76. She led for most of the race and finished just ahead of Dani Jones and Niki Hiltz, with less than a second difference between them.^[8]

Purrier also competed at a high level in the steeple while at the University of New Hampshire. In 2014, she won a national title in the 3000 meter steeplechase,^[9] and went on to place ninth in the final of the event at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Later in her collegiate career, she finished third in the steeplechase at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. In 2016, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Purrier its Northeast Region Track Athlete of the Year.^[10] Purrier majored in nutrition, graduating in 2018.

Purrier signed with New Balance in July 2018.^[11]

Purrier works on a dairy farm in Vermont.^[18] She married her longtime boyfriend Jamie St. Pierre in 2020 and gave birth to their son in March 2023.^[12]

All sourced from World Athletics, as of February 11, 2024.^[22]