Athletics: Kiwi prodigy Maia Ramsden defends prestigious NCAA 1500m crown

Kiwi runner Maia Ramsden has continued her stellar form by defending her NCAA women's 1500m crown in Oregon on Sunday (NZ time).

Ramsden, 22, bolted home down the final stretch to record a winning time of 4m 06.62s, crossing almost two seconds ahead of her closest rival to become the first woman in 20 years to win back-to-back titles in the event.

The US-born Wellingtonian attends Harvard University, where she became only the second Kiwi to win an NCAA outdoor title over 1500m last year.

The result comes just three weeks after Ramsden smashed the NZ national 1500 metres record at a USATF Grand Prix meet at Los Angeles, clocking 4m 02.58s to eclipse the previous mark of 4m 04.82s set by Nikki Hamblin at Barcelona in 2011 and missing out on Paris Olympics qualification by just 0.8s.

Earlier this year, Ramsden won the national collegiate indoor mile crown with a time of 4m 25.13s, while finishing 10th in the world indoor 1500 metres.

Kiwi runner Maia Ramsden has continued her stellar form by defending her NCAA women's 1500m crown in Oregon on Sunday (NZ time).

Ramsden, 22, bolted home down the final stretch to record a winning time of 4m 06.62s, crossing almost two seconds ahead of her closest rival to become the first woman in 20 years to win back-to-back titles in the event.

The US-born Wellingtonian attends Harvard University, where she became only the second Kiwi to win an NCAA outdoor title over 1500m last year.

The result comes just three weeks after Ramsden smashed the NZ national 1500 metres record at a USATF Grand Prix meet at Los Angeles, clocking 4m 02.58s to eclipse the previous mark of 4m 04.82s set by Nikki Hamblin at Barcelona in 2011 and missing out on Paris Olympics qualification by just 0.8s.

Earlier this year, Ramsden won the national collegiate indoor mile crown with a time of 4m 25.13s, while finishing 10th in the world indoor 1500 metres.

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