Vermont Dairy Farmer Sets New American Record in Track and Field
Elle Purrier St. Pierre was fired and fueled to become the best version of herself. The Vermont dairy farmer recently broke her own U.S. record in the women’s indoor mile at a race in New York City. Purrier St. Pierre finished at 4:16.41, which is the third fastest female record ever.
Purrier St. Pierre grew up on a 40-cow operation in Vermont, but never left the farm, as she and her husband still live on a dairy farm today. She finished 10th in the women’s 1,500-meter race at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. The following year, she medaled at the world indoor track and field championships in Belgrade, Serbia — finishing second in the women’s 3,000 meters.
The Olympian has been training ever since she gave birth to her son, Ivan, less than a year ago. She posted a photo with her trophy shortly after breaking her record on Instagram over the weekend, saying, ““For all the moms out there.”
Purrier St. Pierre told National Milk Producer Federation (NFMP) in a Dairy Defined podcast in 2021 that she didn’t realize until college that growing up on a farm was something different or unique.
“Everyone was like, ‘Wow, you grew up on a farm,’” she said. “It was so strange to them and to me, it was just normal was something I was always very proud of. I was proud to say that I was a farm kid. I think the way that I grew up working really hard on the farm is like an asset to my career. It's a skill that I learned from an early age and it's kind of just ingrained in me. That's something that has helped me so much in my career."
The runner says drinking milk is an important part of her training routine, adding that it has the perfect ratio of carbs and protein, especially chocolate milk.
