A distance runner who represented the US at the Rio Olympics in 2016 has told how her dream of competing again at the Tokyo 2020 games was destroyed because of a three-year nightmare with a stalker.
Emily Infeld was training for a second round of the Olympics when a stranger became obsessed with her over the internet in 2018.
For the next three years the track star and her fiancé, Max Randolph, lived in a constant state in fear.
'I was paranoid the whole time,' she told ESPN. 'I looked out the windows, I paced, I couldn't be still. I was really scared.'
It all culminated in June 2020 when she learned that her mentally unstable stalker had moved two miles from her house, allegedly posting on LinkedIn that he came to kill her.
Emily Infeld did not qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after her training was thrown off due to a terrifying three-year ordeal with a stalker
Infeld competed in the Rio 2016 Olympics running in the 10,000-meter race
In April 2018, Infeld hurt her foot and logged into Facebook while icing her injury. When she opened Facebook Messenger, there were dozens of messages from a man named Craig Donnelly.
Donnelly ran cross country and track at Westmont College in California and Oklahoma Baptist University. He grew up suffering from epileptic seizures and on April 27, 2016, he had an epileptic seizure while out for a run.
The runner fell backwards and hit his head which lead to emergency brain surgery which a portion of his brain and skull were removed. Donnelly's brain injury left him physically and mentally disabled.
But Infeld didn't know anything about this man who messaged her. He simply introduced himself as a USA Track and Field coach writing, 'I noticed that you're injured, I want to recommend some things for your recovery,' one message read attached with links to websites about hormone production and endurance running.
Never having heard of the young man with a goofy smile in his Facebook profile picture, Infeld sent screenshots of Donnelly's messages to her coach, agent, and USA Track and Field to verify his identity but didn't hear back.
The messages continued for the next few weeks as Donnelly carried on with his tips for her.
When Infeld asked him to stop and then blocked him, she began receiving calls from an unknown number who she believes was Donnelly but struggled to decipher what was being said.
In voicemail messages he appeared to be planning their wedding.
Craig Donnelly suffered a seizure in 2016 while out running which left him with permanent physical and mental disabilities
In one voicemail a man says, 'I am easy to please and have only two requests. One is that the ceremony is not held in a church in Santa Barbara, California, and that's in the jurisdiction of the annulment, and two is that the singer is also a Christian -- Carrie Underwood.
'I am pretty sure she will perform for free, much like I have provided professional services for free in the past.'
A few days later she got an email with the subject line, 'Wedding preparation.'
It read , 'The rings should be here on Tuesday, and my suit by end of the week (all black with probably my favorite light blue power tie.)' The email said he would take a red-eye to Portland for the ceremony at 2 pm the next Sunday.
'The archbishop who issued the annulment or one of his clergy will be officiating. We can cover the rest of all the preparations together including obtaining a license where you should keep your last name,' the email read. 'Everlasting, Craig.'
Donnelly began messaging Infeld on Facebook in 2018 and eventually moved to her town and threatened to kill her in 2020
Infeld told ESPN, 'I felt weird in the pit of my stomach, but I still kept telling myself that there was no way this guy has my address.' Her worst fears were confirmed when FedEx called three days later informing her that an expensive package would be delivered and needed a signature.
Overcome with emotion, Infled broke down in tears as she explained to the FedEx worker that the package was from a man who she did not know and asked that the package be sent back. The worker then informed her that she had another package being delivered from the same sender which Infeld refused to sign for.
The next day Infeld and her fiancé went to Home Depot to buy a security camera and left town for the weekend. She couldn't stand to be home on Sunday at 2 pm fearing Donnelly might show up but much to her relief the home surveillance footage showed no sign of her stalker.
Infeld headed straight to the Multnomah County Circuit Court to apply for a protective order. After explaining her case, a judge granted her a permanent stalking protective order.
Infled and her fiancé Max Randolph (pictured) moved to his parents' home in Atlanta to evade Donnelly
According to court records, police in Hillsborough, New Jersey, served Donnelly with notice of the protection orders on September 26 and October 31, 2018 and Infeld stopped hearing from him.
Infeld was able to get back to her life and her Olympic training and recorded times that would qualify her for the Tokyo 2020 games.
But 16 months later Donnelly was back.
Infeld was in her Boston hotel room in February 2020 getting ready for a 5,000-meter race that would prove she was on the path to the Olympic trials.
'My heart was pounding because it was something that I honestly thought was done', she said.
But Randolph called her to warn her about some disturbing Twitter and Instagram posts that Donnelly had posted.
In the social media post, he claimed that he had been her coach and husband but that the two had fallen out. He questioned her IQ, referred to their 'marriage' and 'divorce', and even accused her of owing him money.
While she was scared and confused by the post, Infeld tried to focus on her race.
'I kept telling myself, "There is no time to think about this. Just focus on the track and the motion and the breathing".' And that's exactly what she did.
Infled served Donnelly with a permanent stalking protective order which kept him quiet for 16 months until he began posting his delusions about their relationship online
Infeld went on to record a personal best of 14 minutes, 51.91 seconds which was also the second-best time by a U.S. runner and a time that would qualify for the Olympics.
She continued to block Donnelly's accounts but in June 2020, she received a call from her security team which had been set up with through her sponsor, Nike.
'We have some troubling news,' the security team member informed her. 'Your stalker ... has rented a place 2 miles away from your house. And he has posted on LinkedIn that he was coming to Portland specifically to kill you.'
Infeld and Randolph agreed to immediately leave town but were unable to catch a flight to Randolph's parent's house in Atlanta for two days. Infeld didn't sleep the next two nights as they switched hotel rooms trying to evade
