AFTER HARVARD
Maksim Korolev ’14 began his Harvard career as a highly recruited distance runner out of Harrisonville, Mo., where he was a state champion in the 1600 and 3200 meter races and was named Gatorade Missouri Runner of the Year in his senior year.
In his sophomore year of college, following a freshman campaign that saw him place 100th at the NCAA Northeast Regional competition in the 10K, Korolev suffered an injury that prevented him from competing for the entirety of the running season.
Nonetheless, Korolev underwent a meteoric rise during his senior year, thanks in part to regimented trainings sessions with then-teammate James Leakos ’14, who holds Harvard’s second and third fastest times in the 5K and 10K, respectively.
Korolev claimed the NCAA regional title in the 10K and received All-American honors for his third-place finish, an all-time Harvard best, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terra Haute, Ind.
“I trained hard through my junior season,” Korolev said. “In running, if you put in the work, it will eventually show. I had been working a lot in the three years before, and it finally kicked in.”
With one year of eligibility left because of his missed sophomore season, Korolev moved to Stanford University following his graduation from Harvard in 2014.
At Stanford, Korolev has broken onto the international stage by earning the sixth and final spot on the U.S. cross country team to compete at the World Championships. He qualified by running the 12K course in 37:03 in Boulder, Colo., at the 2015 U.S. Championships.
Additionally, Korolev won the inaugural Pan Am Cup, a championship race for athletes from North America, South America, and the Caribbean held in February in Barranquilla, Colombia. At the IAAF World Championships this March, held in Guiyang, China, Korolev finished 57th of 111 runners, and fifth of the six Americans running in the race.
For Korolev, though, the 38-minute race was only a small part of the experience that came with competing on the international stage.
“I’m not going to remember so much the race,” Korolev said. “What I will remember is the week leading up to the race, spending time with the U.S. guys, being in China, and being super sick of the Chinese food.”
If he can continue the success he has had over the past few years, however, Korolev might want to get used to foreign cuisine. While the ex-Crimson athlete is not 100 percent sure of his plans for the near future, Korolev definitely knows that running—and international competitions—are not going to go away anytime soon.
“I think the Olympics would be fun,” Korolev said. “As long as I’m still running, I’d like to make as many U.S. teams as possible. I’d like to stay as competitive as possible on the world stage and continue to improve.”
While there is little doubt that these three athletes have more than proved themselves at the collegiate level, the global stage presents a new series of challenges. But joining Laine on a long list of Harvard track and field athletes to compete in the Olympics is surely within reach.
While the future may still be uncertain, one thing is for sure: these talented individuals have their eyes on gold.