She beat a Guatemalan running record. Now she wants to be on the country’s Olympic team.
Northeastern University student and dual US-Guatemalan citizen Lola Satre Morales was honored by the Guatemalan National Athletics Sports Federation for breaking the Central American country’s 800-meter race record.
In a sport where hundredths of a second matter, Northeastern University runner Lola Satre Morales stood out to assistant women’s track coach John Murray for her “gift of speed.”
Rising star Morales, 19, proved it in the 800-meter race. Morales, who holds dual U.S.-Guatemalan citizenship, ran the event in 2:08.17 in March at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina, an early-season collegiate outdoor track and field meet. Her time broke the longstanding Guatemalan record of 2:08.70 in the women’s competition, set in 2001.
Her record-setting time stems from her ability to challenge herself and work through pain to build endurance, said Murray, who is entering his ninth season as a coach for Northeastern.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Just because you have the gift of speed, it doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
Morales agrees. “Speed has come naturally to me, but it’s a lot of work, really intense,” said Morales. “I used to be on swim teams in school, where I built up my strength. It’s an all-body thing.”
She was recently honored with a special award by the Guatemalan National Athletics Sports Federation in recognition of her record and made a trip in June, along with Murray, to the Olympic Stadium complex in her mother’s native country of Guatemala. Morales herself hails from Naperville, Ill.
Editor’s Picks
“Receiving the award was just amazing,” said Morales, an incoming sophomore with a dual major in biology and political science.
Morales said she is following in a family athletic tradition. Her mother, Blanca Morales-Satre, competed in three Olympics for the Central American country in the 1980s and 1990s, but never earned a medal.
“I want to bring the medal home for her, if I can,” said Morales, who would like to compete on the Guatemalan Olympic team.
Morales has previously competed for Guatemala, however. While in high school, she won the women’s 800-meter run and the women’s 400-meter dash at the 2023 U18 Central American Championships, which bring together athletes from seven member confederations across Central America.
Morales chose Northeastern University not only for its athletic program, but for its academic stature, she said.
“When I was picking schools, I knew I wanted to run in college,” she said. “But I also wanted strong academics, and I wanted to be in a big city like Boston. Northeastern has that.”
Her teammate, Emersyn DePonte, 19, also a rising sophomore majoring in biology, said that Morales “is more than capable of reaching the Olympics.”
“She definitely has the speed potential,” she said. “And she’s building endurance. She’s practicing all the time.”
Murray also said that Morales has the potential to compete at the Olympic level someday.
However, “You can’t just jump from A all the way to Z without all the steps in between,” he said. “I’m really excited for her potential, but there’s a lot of work to do.”
Her coach might be exercising caution, but Morales’ confidence speaks for itself. “I believe I can run faster and drop a lot of time off the clock. I’ve only been here one year.”
