Alice Schmidt Kehaya (born October 3, 1981) is an American

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specializes in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

. She represented the United States at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and has competed at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2011). Schmidt emerged as one of the top collegiate runners while at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, winning back-to-back

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

outdoor titles in 2002 and 2003. She won the United States Indoor title in 2006 and has placed in the top three nationally at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

six times. Her personal best for the 800 m is 1:58.61 minutes, set in 2011. Her personal best in the 1500m is 4:05.64, set in 2012.

Early life and college

Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

,Alice Schmidt
Sports-Reference. Retrieved on 2012-07-15. she attended

Elkhorn High School Elkhorn Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Elkhorn, Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Miss ...

then went on to study journalism and political science at the

. She ran in collegiate competition for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

and in her first year she was runner-up in the 800 m at the NCAA Indoor Championship and the NCAA Outdoor Championship. She was also

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

indoors and outdoors that year. She defended her regional titles in 2002, placed third at the NCAA Indoors, then claimed her first NCAA Outdoor title with a personal record run of 2:04.74 minutes.Alice Schmidt

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

. Retrieved on 2012-07-15. In her third year at North Carolina she won a second straight NCAA Outdoor title, improving her best to 2:01.16 minutes in the process. She also won the ACC Indoor title and placed top three in both the 800 m and

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the ACC Outdoors. In her final year, she did not top the podium at the major collegiate competitions, coming runner-up at the ACC Indoor and Outdoor meets, fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championship, and third over 800 m at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.

Professional career

Schmidt turned professional in 2005 and performed well on the circuit. She was runner-up at the

Boston Indoor Games The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a n ...

and

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

. She dipped under two minutes at an Italian meeting in

Lignano Sabbiadoro Lignano Sabbiadoro (; fur, Lignan) is a town and comune within the province of Udine, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It is one of the main summer resorts in northern Italy and on the Adriatic Sea coast. History ...

, running 1:59.29 minutes, then placed third in the 800 m at the

. This led to her first appearance on the global stage at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

, where she was a semi-finalist.Schmidt Alice
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-15. Her fastest run of 2006 (1:59.35) ranked her second in the United States that year. She claimed her first national title at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

and was second behind

Hazel Clark Hazel Mae Clark (born October 3, 1977) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters middle distance race. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, 2004 and 2008. She has won six national titles and two USA Oly ...

at the USA Outdoors. Third place at the 2007 USA Outdoors saw her included in the American team for the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

. She was knocked out in the heats, but her season was highlighted by a lifetime best of 1:58.75 minutes at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

. Schmidt finished second to Clark at the

United States Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. These events include: * United States Olympic Trials (curling) * United States Olympic Trials (d ...

and made her Olympic debut at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. She did not progress beyond the heats. A

stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

injury curtailed her 2009 and 2010 seasons. She returned to peak form in 2011, having a season's best of 1:58.61 minutes in Italy. A third-place finish in 1:59.21 minutes at the

2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place from June 23–26 and served as the national championships in track and field for ...

saw her compete at the World Championships for a third time. She reached the semi-finals at the Daegu World Championships. A personal best of 4:05.64 minutes came en route to her win in the 1500 m at the 2012 Prefontaine Classic, where she beat world champion

Jennifer Simpson Jennifer Simpson (née Barringer; born August 23, 1986) is an American middle distance runner and steeplechaser. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a former American ...

. She ran in the 800 m at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and earned her second Olympic selection by beating Molly Beckwith to the third place spot. She reached the semi-final stage at the Olympics. Schmidt retired from her career as a professional athlete to pursue a career in medicine. She completed the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

's Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program in May, 2014 and is currently enrolled in

George Washington University Medical School The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School or SMHS) is the professional medical school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. SMHS is one of the most selective medi ...

Personal bests

: 1:58.61 min (2011) *

: 4:05.64 min (2012) *800 m indoors: 2:01.93 min (2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Alice Living people 1981 births American female middle-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics North Carolina Tar Heels women's track and field athletes 21st-century American women