Alysia Montaño, the American middle-distance runner with six USA Outdoor 800-meter titles, once raced eight months pregnant without blinking. This fall delivered a far nastier curveball, one that stripped her of her father and her footing in a single stretch.
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The bronze took 14 years to reach her. Montaño finished fifth in the 2012 London Olympic 800 meters final, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) upgraded her in June 2026 after Russians Mariya Savinova and Yekaterina Poistogova-Guliyev were disqualified for doping.
She opened up in an Instagram post, writing, “I sustained a complete Achilles tendon rupture. I’ve felt pretty low, but I’ve also had great people around me to help keep my head up.”
This truth matters since a complete rupture severs the tendon between the calf and heel, often leading elite runners to undergo surgery and face a lengthy time off due to injury. Her father passed away on September 22, 2026, at age 72 after being hit by a vehicle, so grief and rehab are now part of the same journey.
“It seems like it’d be easier to hide and just try and come out the rubble alone, but my community had made it clear, we’re in this together,” Montaño explained.
This mindset has been a part of her for a long time. Montaño ran the 800 meters in the 2014 USA Outdoor Championships while eight months pregnant. She is also a co-founder of For All Mothers+, which aims to support women juggling both family and sports.
Montaño has had to fight against unfavorable odds before. Stress fractures in her foot that occurred during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, in which she entered as a heavy favorite, sent her off the track in a wheelchair and ended her Beijing hopes.
“My first major injury hoping for an Olympic Memory to now on my pathway towards another Olympic Memory,” the middle-distance runner revealed.
Her word choice is remarkable because a rough 2016 Olympic Trials had already left her unqualified for the Rio Olympics. With less than 150 meters to go in the 800-meter final, she tripped over the shoes of Brenda Martinez, another runner.
Montaño frames the rupture as a detour rather than the end of the road, yet she has not publicly set a return date or confirmed a 2028 comeback. For now, the only locked-in date is the women’s 800 meters final on July 18, 2028.
The résumé backs up that determination. She put herself out there, winning the 2015 USA Outdoor 800 meters 10 months after giving birth, despite having to tape her separated abs together for training because of diastasis recti.
“Thanks to my partners for their immediate and complete understanding during this tough time,” she added.
That gratitude lands differently given her history. Her sponsorship contract treated pregnancy like an injury and paused her pay in 2014, so an immediate show of support from partners reads like a clean single compared with that old strikeout.
This is Montaño’s third major setback before an Olympic cycle, a pattern of adversity she has overcome twice before.
Off-field support is consistent, but the biggest applause she’s ever asked for still awaits her in Los Angeles. Her chance at glory comes with the upcoming swing.
Montaño has big plans for her legacy
Now, while the injury has derailed yet another year of Olympic planning for Alysia Montaño, it’s clear that the 40-year-old has not given up hope. If anything, her social media post shows a woman who refuses to give up even in the face of immense adversity. Her resume more than showcases that, especially considering what Montaño has been through.
However, now on the back of her latest setback, the 40-year-old still plans on aiming for a spot at the LA 2028 Olympics, hoping to rediscover her best by then. After all, it’s what Montaño wants her legacy to be: a woman who never gave up.
“I hope when people think of Alysia, they think of an individual who never backed down, who always stood up for what was right—and not just the things that were going to serve herself and her family,” Montaño told Runner’s World in 2020.
The mother of three, an Olympic medalist, a seven-time US Champion and the American 4×800 record holder, Montaño holds a lot of titles. However, when it comes to her children, the 40-year-old middle-distance runner has only one goal, and it’s an important one. One that she’s spent her whole life working towards, literally breaking the glass ceiling.
“I want for my kids to see how important our women are. I want for my kids to be able to see a world where we are truly afforded the opportunity to be whoever we want to be. Where they are not looked at by way of negativity because of the color of their skin,” she added.
“I want people to see their value and their beauty and their worth. I want them to know that they are everything that they ever imagined they could be… and if anybody wants to tell you [otherwise], you go ahead and tell them your momma said differently.”
Montaño’s complete Achilles rupture has added another setback to an Olympic journey already marked by injuries. Yet, she has not let it change the legacy she wants to leave behind. As she works towards a return at LA 2028, the 40-year-old remains focused on showing her children that setbacks need not mean giving up on what matters.