About
Ieva is a trained athlete, honor student and lover of sports and the pursuit of competitive excellence. In the Spring of 2024, as a Freshman, Ieva joined the Wellesley High School Track and Field team. New to the sport of running and an accomplished figure skater formerly, she was eager to learn the fundamentals of running. She found success in the Spring track season with Wellesley High School, earning Varsity. Eager to continue learning and training, Ieva joined the roster at Emerging Elites in the late Spring/Summer 2024.
Quality, personal coaching and hard working teammates are qualities she values. Equally important is spending time with her family, playing with her two dogs, testing new recipes and exploring world cuisine, traveling and watching her favorite sports.
Summer 2024
In July 2024, Ieva was thrilled to take on the challenge of her first mountain running race at the Loon Mountain Race, which was the 2024 U20 US Mountain Running Championships. This vertical race with 934m of elevation gain was Ieva’s debut in the mountain / trail discipline. Widely regarded as the one of the country’s toughest mountain races, Loon is a nearly 10km vertical race, with rocky, difficult terrain and the Upper Walking Boss, a kilometer long section with grades above 40%. Ieva’s athleticism was quickly revealed as she secured the victory over her accomplished Emerging Elites teammates and the entire field of U20 women. She crossed the line as the US Mountain Running U20 Champion, finishing in 1:07.17, 5 minutes ahead of her Emerging Elites teammate who finished as the 2nd place U20 woman. When including the boy’s competition, Ieva finished 3rd overall out of 36 U20 competitors!
Fall 2024
Following her win at Loon, Ieva’s summer and fall training featured long training blocks with limited racing, focusing on her aerobic development. Through a blend of running and cross training, Ieva has developed a strong aerobic engine. With weekly hill repeats on Heartbreak Hill last fall, Ieva became a more powerful athlete. In November 2024, Ieva had a breakthrough cross country race at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals, where she ran 18:47.50 at Franklin Park, good for 28th overall.
Winter 2024-2025
Fueled by her experience at Foot Locker Northeast Regionals, Ieva was eager to attack her first ever season of indoor track. Ieva opened her season in December by debuting in the 3000m, running 10:18.60 and qualifying for the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championship 2 Mile. She then focused on developing her speed and dropped down to race shorter distances. Competing in congested collegiate and post-collegiate fields at Boston University, Ieva debuted in the 1000m in 2:57.51 and lowered her mile personal best by 26 seconds, running 5:04.96. By February of her debut indoor season, Ieva had qualified for the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championship 800m, mile and 2 mile.
Heading into her first NBNI track nationals, Ieva decided to focus on the 800m and mile. Her experience as an international figure skater who thrives in a high-stake environment was evident. Arriving to The TRACK at new balance, Ieva remained composed and calm despite being in a stimulating environment surrounded by the nation’s best athletes. She took control of her warm-up and was determined to arrive to the line ready to race. In both the 800m and mile, Ieva found herself in slow, tactical championship-style races with a fast close, a different racing experience from the faster time-trial racing style she experienced at BU this winter. As a curious student of the sport, Ieva carefully watched the seeded championship races, analyzed how the races developed and learned about what it takes to perform at the championship level on the track. This provided a great learning environment for Ieva. We’re thrilled that she had a positive experience at her first track national championships as an underclassman and can use this as a springboard for championship racing at future national races.
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