Sophomore Shira Wenthe is GDS’ new record-holder for the women’s 800-meter dash. She set the record at the Rice Relays at Episcopal High School on Thursday, April 17.
Wenthe competed in the second heat of the finals in the 800-meter dash. Her time was 2:15.58, breaking the previous record of 2:19.80 set by Ella Gillespie ’21 in 2019.
With the record-breaking time, Wenthe earned first place in the meet for the 800-meter dash, finishing top ten along with junior Zoe Maas, who placed third, and freshman Zoe Wolin, who placed ninth of 17 runners. The men’s team placed second of eight teams, and the women’s team finished third of seven teams.
Wenthe has been running cross country and track since she was in third grade. She ran track at Alice Deal Middle School and started running for GDS her freshman year. She had a strong cross-country season this year and broke GDS’ women’s cross-country five-kilometer record at the DC State Athletic Association (DCSAA) Championships at Kenilworth Park on Nov. 2 with a time of 18:19.99, beating the previous record of 18:27 set by Katherine Treanor ’16.
“She’s a very smart runner, a very confident runner and a very patient athlete, so she’s been doing her good, hard training,” head coach Anthony Belber said. “I was expecting she could improve by a few seconds. I was not expecting her to run as fast as 2:15, which is quite an improvement in the space of a few weeks. It was a pleasant surprise and I’m proud of her,” he added.
“I was honestly shocked to have broken the 800 record as it is a middle-distance track event and I tend to consider myself as a long-distance runner,” Wenthe said. “I hadn’t been thinking about this event or considering that I could break the record until about a week ago, when I ran about a second off of it during a relay.”
“It was very exciting when Shira [Wenthe] broke the record,” junior Charlotte Glendinning said. “She works very hard and has really good discipline. She is a great team player and leads by example.” Wenthe is “really humble and able to take pride in her work without letting it get to her head,” Glendinning added.
“She is an extremely dedicated runner and puts her all into the sport, so seeing her hard work pay off is always inspiring,” senior and captain Sadie Boyle told the Bit.
Glendinning also highlighted Wenthe’s “dedicated and honest approach to the team.”
“My main motivation to keep training is simply that I really enjoy the sport—training with my teammates every day makes practice enjoyable, and it’s exciting to see your hard work pay off,” Wenthe said. “Encouragement from my coaches and teammates helped push me to keep putting effort into my training and perform my best.”
Wenthe further emphasized the importance and value of her teammates’ support, saying, “I’m grateful to have such a supportive team around me. Although track is sometimes seen as an individual sport, the reactions and encouragement from my teammates fuel me to put in my best effort and continue working even when it’s hard.”
Members of the varsity track team will travel to Philadelphia this week for the Penn Relays, taking place on April 24-26. The next meet for Wenthe is Cassel’s XBC Track Experience at Chantilly High School on Saturday, April 27.