Elle Purrier St. Pierre won the women’s 1500M at the U.S Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, to secure her spot on team headed to Tokyo.

St. Pierre, of Montgomery, set a meet record with a time of 3 minutes, 58.03 seconds.

St. Pierre started on the inside in the 13-woman race and was nearly pushed onto the infield in the early jostling. “I tried not to let it bother me, and honestly, it gave me a little boost,” she said. “I wanted to go to the front and I thought, ‘I’m going for it.’”

She never looked back. And now, the 25-year-old is part of a new generation of 1,500 runners heading to the Olympics. Cory McGee was second and Heather MacLean finished third to earn spots to Tokyo.

A surprise? Depends on who you ask.

“I think expectations ruin things,” she said. “Lining up today, I was not thinking I got the job done before it was done.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.