Anastasia Kretova

Happy birthday to Anastasiia Kretova, who went from a Russian national record to an NCAA All-America award in twelve months.

The dates tell the story. On 2 August 2025 at the Summer Spartakiad in Krasnodar, Anastasiia ran the anchor leg of a Chelyabinsk Oblast mixed 4x400m that went 3:21.51, a Russian U20 national record, ratified in November. Thirteen days later, on 15 August, Kansas State announced they had signed her. And on 13 June 2026 in Eugene she ran the 4x400m final at the NCAA Division I Championships, where the Wildcats finished eighth and she came home a First Team All-American, in her freshman year.

In between she took her 400m to 53.34, her 200m to 24.58, ran on a Kansas State school-record 4x400m of 3:28.74, and took third in the 4x400m at both the Big 12 indoor and outdoor championships. Before any of it she was already a Russian junior champion twice over: the U18 400m title in Chelyabinsk in 2022 at fifteen, and U20 4x400m gold in Yekaterinburg in 2025.

How it happened is the part worth repeating. She was recruited through Instagram messages, in the winter of 2024, out of nowhere. Her own account of the decision: she had never thought about it at all, but who am I if I don’t try. She said she planned to keep racing in Russia in the summers. Her Instagram bio is now four lines long, and two of them are flags.

She spent ten years with coach Andrey Tregubov in Chelyabinsk before the move, and she carries the classification of Candidate Master of Sport.

С днём рождения, Анастасия! Желаю здоровья и счастья на долгие годы, и ещё много быстрых кругов по обе стороны океана. 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇷🇺