Parker Valby makes her feelings known as she wins major track award for performances in the Olympic year

Parker Valby opened up about winning the Bowerman Award at the end of this year. The athlete capped her year by winning this prestigious award. Valby is currently the NCAA record holder for the indoor 5000m, outdoor 5000m, and outdoor 10000m.

She is also a six-time NCAA champion and appeared in her maiden Olympic campaign at the 2024 Summer Games. She earned a fourth-place finish in the 5000m dash at the Olympic trials, missing out on a spot in the finals.

However, she punched her ticket to the Paris Olympics, as she qualified for the 10,000m event, where she clocked 30:59.28 to earn an eleventh-place finish. Considering her collegiate achievements and her making it to the Paris Olympics, she was a standout athlete this year and won the Bowerman Award on December 19, which is the most prestigious award in college track and field.

Days after winning the award, Parker Valby shared a bunch of pictures and videos on her Instagram, which showcased several wholesome moments from the day when she received the Bowerman award.

The pictures also carried the moments that showcased her celebrating the win with her friends, such as Anna Hall. In the caption of this post, she added a heartfelt note, making her feelings known about receiving the award.

"A 35 pound trophy is the cherry on top of a dream come true year for this bower(wo)man 🍒🏆such a fun few days back at home with friends and family celebrating all of these amazing finalists 🫶🏼congrats to every one of the finalists and to @leothegerman for winning the bower(man)🥂cheers to an amazing 2024 and here’s to an even better 2025🤗" wrote Parker Valby.

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Parker Valby opened up about reaching the Paris Olympics

In an interview in July 2024, Parker Valby opened up about her feelings on reaching the Paris Olympics. The six-time NCAA winner said that she was grateful that she could make her way to the Summer Games. Along with this, she revealed that she always wanted to qualify for the event and had manifested it by having a vision board.

"In the end, I made it on two teams which was pretty incredible, which is crazy to say. I never expected that, so [I’m] super grateful,” Parker Valby said. “I put it on my fridge. My coach made us do them during a recruiting visit in December for the new year and I was like, ‘Oh no, that’s silly that my coach said put it on your fridge.'"

She called 2024 her favorite year and said:

“I think my favorite year was probably this year because, obviously, I got to run three whole seasons, so that was new for me. I had a lot of fun doing that and I had [great] teammates to do it with."

Parker Valby recently signed with New Balance in a multimillion-dollar endorsement contract. The 21-year-old has joined Gabby Thomas, Vernon Norwood, and Trayvon Bromell in signing with the brand.