SPOKANE, Wash. – For the first time since 1997, an American won the Bloomsday elite women’s race.
“It’s just a really good feeling,” Bloomsday champion Kasandra Parker said. “I feel like I’ve been chasing this kind of win for a long time, so I’m glad to do it here, too.”
Parker finished 18 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, and she beat her 2025 time by over a full minute.
“I kind of just challenged myself the whole way,” Parker said. “Positive vibes the whole way.”
Only a few minutes later, history happened again. Reid Buchanan won the elite men’s race, the first American champ in that category since 1986.
“It’s been in the back of my head since I was close,” Buchanan said. “Someone told me when I got second, hey, you know, that would have been really cool if you got it done, because America hasn’t won here in a long, long time. And so, you know, I knew if I was able to come in, execute that, it would mean a lot.”
Buchanan finished second place in the 2022 race by just a hair, and now feels like the mental side of him caught back up.
“You know, I just kept stacking,” Buchanan said. “I’m four more years in shape than the last time I tried to win it. You just keep doing little by little and stack up the fitness.”
Both racers said they enjoyed the Bloomsday course, and they’d want to come back to defend their title in next year’s 51st race.
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