Vermont dairy farmer to compete in second Olympics

Dairy farmers across the United States will be represented in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which kicked off July 26 with the Opening Ceremony. On August 6, the first round of the women’s 1,500-meter run, one of the U.S. runners in the event will be Vermont native and distance runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre. 

She will be competing in her second Olympics, having qualified and finishing 10th in the 1,500-meter run at the 2020 Games in Japan.

Purrier St. Pierre grew up on her family’s dairy operation near Montgomery, Vermont, and is still involved with husband Jamie St. Pierre’s family-run dairy farm near the towns of Richford and Berkshire in the northernmost part of the state, nestled close to the Canadian border. 

Pleasant Valley

The biggest family-owned dairy operation in Vermont, Pleasant Valley Farms has roots that go as far back as 1789, according to the farm’s website. 

The current iteration of the farm was founded in 1986 by Jamie’s parents, Mark and Amanda St. Pierre. The main dairy on the property was built in 1998. Recently, Mark and Amanda passed the farm on to sons Jamie and Bradley. 

The farm also has a number of maple trees and sells organic maple syrup. 

In a quote on the farm’s website, Amanda says she holds great pride in being a part of such a big, family-owned operation. 

“If I sound proud to be a farmer, it is because I am,” Amanda says. “I am proud that my family for generations has been able to adapt and evolve to meet the demands of our society.  From the Great Depression through the pandemic, we produced secure and reliable food, generated economic value to our community, continued to be stewards of the land, and produced renewable energy.”

In 2022, Elle and Jamie were guests on the Uplevel Dairy podcast hosted by Peggy Coffeen. During their appearance, the couple spoke about Pleasant Valley Farms, giving more insight into their responsibilities on the farm. 

In the interview, Jamie said the farm currently has 3,000-plus cows and milks cows on three separate sites. Elle said she uses her athlete mindset of self-care and applies it to the cows she works with on the farm. 

“My body has been my tool for my job as a runner, so I have this internal focus, thinking all the time on how to take care of my body, how to make sure I’m hydrated, eating well, and sleeping right,” Elle said. “All these things that I’ve been doing for my body, in turn, can be used for the cows. They’re athletes, because if they’re eating enough, if they’re drinking enough, sleeping enough, and are comfortable, then they’re going to perform better.”

Purrier St. Pierre’s running path

An accomplished runner at the high school level in Vermont, Elle ran in college at the University of New Hampshire. While there, she was an 11-time All-American and won the NCAA indoor national championships in 2018, taking the title in the mile run. 

After college she turned her attention to professional distance running and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also married high-school sweetheart Jamie in 2020. 

A bittersweet moment came for Elle in December 2020, according to Lancaster Farming, as the family farm she grew up on sold its cows. However, it didn’t take long for her to get involved on the St. Pierre family farm.

Elle said that the variables that go into running a farm, big or small, taught her lessons growing up.

“There are so many things that can go wrong. It’s similar to running. I train really hard to get ready for a race, then what if I get tripped or pushed? I always come back from it. I learned how to be resilient on the farm,” she said.

In March of 2023, she gave birth to a son, named Ivan.

It took her less than a year after Ivan’s birth to work her way back to the top of mid-distance running in the United States with a Feb. 14 victory in the mile short track event at the Millrose Games in New York.

She currently sits 9th in the World Athletics world rankings for the 5,000-meter run and is the highest-ranked American. In May, Purrier St. Pierre took first in the USA Track and Field (USATF) Los Angeles Grand Prix with a time of 14 minutes, 34.12 seconds. She then followed it up on June 24 at the U.S. Olympic team trials in Eugene, Oregon, winning the qualifying race with a 14:40.34 time to clinch her second Olympics overall and first Olympic qualification in the 5,000. The race was tight at the end between Elle and fellow qualifier Elise Cranny, resulting in a near photo-finish to determine the winner.

She told Team USA’s video team after crossing the finish line that it was “a dream come true” to win the race and qualify for the Olympics with Ivan in attendance.

“The Olympic Trials are always exciting,” Elle said. ”It’s just the day everybody lays it all on the line. I knew it was going to get tough there at the end, so I dug as deep as I could and got to the line.”

Additionally, Elle qualified again for her preferred race, the 1,500-meter run. She finished third in the USA Olympic Trials final with a time of 3:50.99. The event was another tight finish, as the top three runners finished within 6 tenths of a second. Withdrawing from the 5,000-meter run entry list, she will compete solely in the 1,500-meter run.

Elle is currently ranked No. 26 in the world at the 1,500-meter run, per World Athletics.

Where to watch

The first round of the women’s 1,500-meter run takes place Aug. 5 at 3:05 p.m. Central and 10:05 p.m. Paris time. Coverage will be live on the Peacock streaming app, with television coverage yet to be announced. If she advances, there is a semi-final round for the event at 12:35 p.m. Central and 7:35 p.m. Paris time on Aug. 8.

If Purrier St. Pierre qualifies for the finals, she would run Aug. 10 at 1:15 p.m. Central time and 8:15 p.m. Paris time. Coverage would again be shown live on Peacock.