Mary Teresa Cullen (born 17 August 1982) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres on the track, and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

. She holds the Irish record over 3000 m indoors.

Early career

Born in Sligo, she competed in international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

at a young age, running in the junior race at the

1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on 27 and 28 March 1999. The races were held at the Barnett Demesne/ Queen's University Playing Fields in Belfast, United Kingdom. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Ti ...

and the 3000 metres at the inaugural

IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics The IAAF U18 Championships in Athletics (until 2015 known as IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics) was a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who were 17 or younger (youth = Under-18). The event was orga ...

when she was sixteen years old. After meeting American coach Ray Treacy in Ireland, he offered her a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

to attend university in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She went on to study

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

at Providence College and represented their

college athletics College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des ...

team, the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compe ...

.Mary Cullen: Enjoying the fame game
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' (2009-03-15). Retrieved on 2009-12-13. In her first year in 2001–2002, she ran a personal best for fifth in the 5000 metres at the Big East Championships, won the 3000 m at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

and competed at the

NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and ...

. She improved the following year: a fourth place in the regional competition and a 28th-place finish at the NCAA National Cross Country Championship earned her

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honours. In

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

competitions, she took third in the 3000 m and fourth in the

distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. ...

. She took fourth in the 5000 m NCAA regionals with a personal best of 15:56.96 and finished in fifth at the

NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for women organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make ...

, gaining her second All-American honours of the season.Women's Track: Mary Cullen

. Retrieved on 2009-12-13. Her final year at Providence College in 2003–04 was perhaps her most successful: she won the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

at the

Women's Challenge Cup The Women's Challenge Cup is a rugby league knockout competition organised by the Rugby Football League. The competition started in 2012. History 2012–2016: Foundations The Women's Challenge Cup was set up in 2012 to run alongside the men's c ...

and also won the mile and the distance medley relay race at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

Invitational. Cross country competition brought further success: a number of podium finishes included second-place finishes at both the NCAA regionals and Big East Championships, and she capped off the season by finishing fifth at the NCAA National Cross Country Championships, receiving her third All-America honours for the feat.

Professional athletics

In the 5000 metres she finished twelfth at the 2006 European Championships, and competed without reaching the final at the 2007 World Championships. In the 3000 metres event she finished seventh at the 2007 European Indoor Championships. She just missed out on the medals with a fourth position finish at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships, ending up two seconds behind bronze medallist Inês Monteiro. She suffered a calf injury a few months later and missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a result. She broke

Sonia O'Sullivan Sonia O'Sullivan (born 28 November 1969) is an Irish former track and field athlete. She won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1995 World Championships, and a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2000 Olympic Games. Her 2000 m wor ...

's indoor 3000 m national record at the Valentine Invitation Meet in Boston, Massachusetts. Her time of 8:43.74 was the fifth fastest that year in the world and she was selected as Ireland's athlete of the month. She won the bronze at the

2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena

the following month. There were high expectations for the 2009 European Cross Country Championships, which was held in her native Ireland. However, she finished the race out of contention in twelfth position, behind her compatriot

Fionnuala Britton Fionnuala McCormack (née Britton; born 24 September 1984 in Wicklow) is an Irish runner who has competed at a range of distance running events. She was the gold medallist at the 2011 and 2012 European Cross Country Championships. She has repr ...

. She later commented that she had put too much pressure on herself to perform and had suffered accordingly. She rebounded the following month with a win at the Belfast International Cross Country, beating Anikó Kálovics and Cross Country Champion

Hayley Yelling Hayley Higham (born 3 January 1974, in Dorchester) is a British runner. She is the sister-in-law of fellow British runner Liz Yelling. She works as a Maths teacher at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and runs ...

to the finish line. Run by Mary Cullen in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

at 2015 Finn Valley 5k setting a course record in 15.45 inside previous of Olympic medalist and World champ

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

16.14.

Personal bests

1500 metres 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 Athle ...

- 4:15.88 min (2007, indoor) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

- 4:32.29 min (2007, indoor) * 3000 metres - 8:43.74 min(2009, indoor NR) * 5000 metres - 15:18.34 min (2009, indoor) *

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

- 32:21.42 min (2007)

References

External links

Interviews
from Flotrack {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Mary 1982 births Living people Irish female long-distance runners Sportspeople from Sligo (town) Providence College alumni Athletes from County Sligo