Steiner clocks 35.80 seconds in first track competition in more than six months to take down 1981 record achieved at AIAW final by Nebraska standout Ottey, elevating to No. 3 performer in American history and No. 6 all-time globally

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

It took Abby Steiner 18 career indoor 200-meter races to share the collegiate record.

The Kentucky senior needed only one opportunity to eclipse the NCAA Division 1 all-time mark in the indoor 300 meters.

Competing for the first time in more than six months after an Achilles’ injury limited her opportunities during the spring outdoor season, Steiner opened the indoor season Saturday at the Louisville Cardinal Classic and clocked 35.80 seconds in the 300 to take down a standard belonging to former Nebraska standout Merlene Ottey for more than 40 years.

Ottey clocked 35.83 in 1981 at the AIAW Indoor Championships in Idaho. The Kentucky program mark was set in 2017 in Indiana when current 400-meter hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin ran 36.12 in collegiate debut.

Steiner elevated to the No. 6 all-time global performer, including third among U.S. female competitors.

Quanera Hayes holds the American record at 35.71, set in 2017 at Clemson, with former Harvard standout Gabby Thomas – who shares the collegiate indoor 200 record with Steiner at 22.38 – clocking 35.73 in February in New York.

Steiner is the first female athlete to simultaneously hold collegiate records in the indoor 200 and 300, since Ottey never ran an indoor 200 during her Nebraska career. Ottey does still hold the indoor 200 world record from 1993 at 21.87, the only female competitor in history to produce a sub-22 performance indoors.

Steiner matched the collegiate indoor 200 record of Thomas in March to win the Division 1 title at Randal Tyson Track Center in Arkansas, equaling the No. 2 performer in American history and matching the No. 5 all-time global female competitor.