Bellevue resident Katie Burnett, who spent a year at Skyline and another at Newport, recently qualified for the U.S. National Team for the 20K race walk at the World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia on May 12 and 13.

Burnett, who began race walking with the Cascade Striders youth track club in middle school, finished fourth at the IAAF Trials to earn one of the five spots on the team.

“I’m really looking forward to going to Russia,” Burnett said. “I’m excited to have a chance to compete against the best in the world.”

Strictly enforced rules govern the parameters for race walking and state that to the naked eye, competitors must always appear to have one foot on the ground.

“It’s obviously not a mainstream sport here,” Burnett said of race walking. “I was trying all the events and it turns out it was my best one.”

The 23-year-old Burnett graduated from William Penn University (Iowa) with a degree in Biology and was a four-time NAIA All-American for the Statesmen.