EUGENE — Karissa Schweizer is headed to Paris.

Schweizer, who trains with the Bowerman Track Club, finished third in the women’s 5,000-meter final Monday at the U.S. Olympic trials, posting a time of 14 minutes, 45.12 seconds. Schweizer joins an Olympic team that includes Elle St. Pierre, who won in a meet-record 14:40.34 and second-place finisher Elise Cranny (14:40.36).

Even after three-plus miles, it was nearly a photo finish between St. Pierre and Cranny.

St. Pierre, Cranny and Schweizer made a move late to separate themselves from the pack.

“I knew there was going to be a couple moves that decide the (Olympic) team,” Schweizer said. “I knew I just had to latch on to every move and respond well and stay very engaged. Luckily, I felt really good, and so I just went with every move. I knew the last lap was going to be pretty fast. I just finished as strong as I could.”

Placing fourth and just missing out on the Olympic team was University of Florida star Parker Valby, who still met the Olympic standard with a time of 14:51.44, a personal best. Valby led the way for most of the race before fading as the veterans surged.

• WATCH: The best way to see every event of the USA Olympic trials for under $6 is by signing up for Peacock Premium ($5.99/month), NBC’s low-cost streaming service. Top events will also be broadcast live on NBC and USA Network. If you don’t already have cable, you can still watch some of those events live for free with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial).

Schweizer looks forward to her journey with the Olympic team, and said she has never been to Paris before.

“This is what I envisioned,” Schweizer said. “The goal of today was getting in the top three. And for me, coming back from injury and setbacks, I just needed to start feeling like myself again. I feel like myself out there.”

Schweizer placed 11th in the 5,000 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and 12th in the 10,000, which she will compete in at the trials this weekend for a potential second bid to the 2024 Olympics.

The women’s 10,000 final starts at 6:09 p.m. Saturday at Hayward Field.

-- Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference for The Oregonian and co-hosts the Soccer Made in Portland and Ducks Confidential podcasts. He can be reached at rclarke@oregonian.com or @RyanTClarke.

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