Latvia American middle-distance runner Samuel Prakel postponed his wedding for a week to compete in the 2023 World Road Championships in Riga, where he won silver in the mile.
"Last weekend, Prakel faced a challenging decision - having to choose between love and representing his country at Riga 2023," commented Canadian Running Magazine .
Prakel planned to marry his girlfriend Katie Landwehr on September 30. But when he received an invitation to represent the US team at Riga 2023 on October 1, the 28-year-old runner had to make the difficult choice - postpone the wedding by a week, to October 7.
"It's an honor to represent the United States," Prakel said at a pre-race press conference. "We have the best track team in the world. I even postponed my wedding to be here for this event. It's great to be here and represent the country."
Prakel (right) on the men's 1-mile course at the World Half Marathon Road Championships in Riga, Latvia on September 30. Photo: World Athletics
In the men's mile (1.6 km) event at Riga 2023, Prakel won silver with a personal best (PB) of 3:56.43 and received a prize of $3,500. His compatriot Hobbs Kessler set a world record of 3:56.13, while Britain's Callum Elson took silver with 3:56.41.
Prakel's decision to postpone his wedding to serve on the US team at the World Championships immediately caused a stir on social media, as another superstar in the sport - Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen - did not make the same choice. Ingebrigtsen, the reigning European mile record holder with a time of 3:43.73, decided to skip the race in Riga to stay home and marry his longtime girlfriend Elisabeth Asserson on September 23, then spend the following week on his honeymoon in the Maldives.
Meanwhile, Canadian Running Magazine jokingly commented that the $3,500 prize will help cover part of the wedding and honeymoon costs for Prakel and Landwehr, after he returns from Riga.
Landwehr, also a middle-distance runner, first met Prakel during a trip to Ireland for the Letterkenny race on 7 July 2017. They began dating 12 days later, also in Ireland, at a post-race gala in Cork. In July 2022, Prakel proposed and she accepted.
Photo of Sam Prakel and his fiancée Katie Landwehr on their wedding website.
In March 2022, Prakel represented the United States at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, finishing ninth in the 1,500m with a time of 3 minutes 38.40 seconds.
Prakel won gold in both the 1,500m and 3,000m at the 2023 USA Indoor Championships. In fact, he finished second to Josh Thompson in the 1,500m. But Thompson was disqualified for blocking Henry Wynne in the final 100m, and the title went to Prakel.
On March 25, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa, Prakel set the outdoor mile world record with 4 minutes, 1.21 seconds. His indoor mile best is 3 minutes, 50.94 seconds - 13th all-time.
Hong Duy
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