Parker Valby’s NCAA record coverage sparks conversation on women of color in sports

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University of Florida’s four-time NCAA champion Parker Valby is now named the first college woman in history to go sub 15 minutes in the 5,000 meters and holds a decorated record of just a single loss of 8-1, yet she could be a testament to the coverage, or lack thereof, in the scene of women of color in sports.

Only three months after obliterating the previous collegiate record in the women’s 5,000 meters, the Tampa native set the time even lower at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a finishing record of 14:52.79. 

Despite her recent achievements, the flood of coverage on Valby raises questions about representation among young female collegiate runners.  

Alyssa Forrester, a runner for the University of Maryland Club Running, described Valby as a successful collegiate runner who happens to fit into the mold of what a distance runner should look like.

“Compared to other college athletes, what really differentiates her?” Forrester asked. “I think she's any other college athlete doing what she needs to do and being successful.”

Black women and other women of color have historically been marginalized in coverage of sports, receiving less media coverage than majority groups, yet continue to leave the playing stage with records left unrecognized. 

A study published in the journal SSM-Population Health found that Black women were more likely to be disadvantaged in being promoted to a higher position in collegiate athletics compared to their white men and women counterparts, according to Heejun Lim and other researchers. 

“As a Black track athlete, you don’t see much of us,” Forrester said. 

Lyna Beraich, a sophomore collegiate runner for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said that in the distance world, the most highlighted women tend to be swept up in white women like Valby and American professional distance runner Katelyn Tuohy.

“We don't focus so much on interacting with and getting perspective from international runners or other POC runners, which I don't think is Parker or Katelyn’s fault,” she said. 

Jackie Suarez, a coach for track and field and cross country at Urbana High School in Frederick County, said that this problem of coverage has to do with a larger problem linked to racism in the running community.

“She is, you know, a pretty white girl, and that does tend to catch media attention. It does potentially take away from other performances,” Suarez said. Young girls of color deserve to see women that look like them receive the same attention and recognition.”

Valby has only gone up since the start of the outdoor season, and with her latest breakthroughs, she is set to claim a second collegiate record this winter in the 3K. 

Just last year, Valby signed an endorsement agreement with sportswear brand Nike, becoming the first female college track and field athlete to have a name, image, and likeness agreement with the company. 

“Parker Valby is great. Undeniably.” Forrester said. “But, people think that to be a cross country athlete, you have to be skinny, you have to be white. That's not who's setting the records and who's winning Olympic medals.”