Mary Cain (athlete)
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Mary Cecilia Cain (born May 3, 1996) is an American professional
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 ...
from
Bronxville Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. Cain was the 2014 World Junior Champion in the 3000 meter event. She is the youngest American athlete ever to represent the United States at a track and field World Championships meet after competing in the
2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...
in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
aged 17 years and 3 months.


Personal life

Cain was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1996, the daughter of Charles and Mary E. Cain, and has three sisters, Aine, Catherine, and Mairead. She grew up in
Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...
, in
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
, north of New York City, and was noticed in the seventh grade for her running ability. Her main events are in middle distance running. She graduated from
Bronxville High School Bronxville Union Free School District is a public school district serving the Village of Bronxville, Westchester County, New York. In 2012, 1635 students were enrolled in the district elementary, middle and high school which are all housed withi ...
in 2014. She attended the honors program at the
University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...
in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
while competing as a professional athlete for
Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...
In October 2012, she came under the coaching direction of
Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, whe ...
, who in 2019 was banned for 4 years from athletics for doping offenses, and in 2021 was banned for life by the
United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with ad ...
for sexual misconduct.


Career


Early high school career

Cain ran for 10 seasons for
Bronxville High School Bronxville Union Free School District is a public school district serving the Village of Bronxville, Westchester County, New York. In 2012, 1635 students were enrolled in the district elementary, middle and high school which are all housed withi ...
, winning numerous state titles, as well as two national titles while still a Bronxville athlete. In 2010, she was the NYS Class C Cross Country Champion; in 2011, she was both NYS Class C and NYS Federation Champion. She ran the 800 meters at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and placed 18th, and also ran at the
2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...
, where she broke the American high school girl's outdoor record in the 1500 m with a 4:11.01, surpassing the record of
Jordan Hasay Jordan Melissa Hasay (born September 21, 1991) is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School A ...
in the 2008 United States Olympic Trials by over 3 seconds. The effort qualified her to run in the World Championships. She had taken second in the same event the year before.


2013

On January 16, 2013, Cain won the 3000 meter race at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
Indoor Preview meet, with what should be a record-setting time of 9:02.10 (high school), superior to the 9:08.6 Outdoor record of
Lynn Bjorklund Lynn Bjorklund is an American long-distance runner originally from Los Alamos, New Mexico. In 1975, she set the U.S. high school record in the 3000 metres run, a record which stood until 2013. In 1981, she also set the female course record for the ...
set in 1975. Historically no records set indoors at the University of Washington track have been accepted because at 307 meters, the track is oversized, although it is significantly smaller than a normal 400-meter outdoor track. At the world level since 2000, indoor marks superior to the outdoor record are now accepted. But the record for 3000 meters at the High School level is administered to by ''
Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...
'' which sets its own standards. For the accomplishment,
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 ...
named Cain the Athlete of the Week. On January 26, in New York City, she ran the indoor one mile in 4:32.78. The mark beat Debbie Heald's indoor national high school record from 1972 by almost 6 seconds. Even though she had not started her finishing kick yet, her 1500-meter split time of 4:16.11 surpassed
Lynn Jennings Lynn Alice Jennings (born July 1, 1960) is a retired American long-distance runner. She is one of the best female American runners of all time, with a range from 1500 meters to the marathon. She excelled at all three of the sport's major discip ...
' record for that distance from 1978. Her time was also more than two and a half seconds superior to
Polly Plumer Polly Anne Plumer is an American track and field athlete who set the National High School record holder in the Mile run at 4:35.24, in open competition at UCLA May 16, 1982 while a student at University High School (Irvine, California). That di ...
's outdoor national high school outdoor record from 1982. On February 2, 2013 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 ...
, Cain set the high school record in the indoor 2 mile with a time of 9:38.68. Her time was almost 10 seconds superior to
Kim Mortensen Kimberly Mortensen is the girl's individual winner of the 1995 Footlocker Cross Country Championships and a former national high school record holder in the 3200 meter run. In December of 1995, Mortensen capped off a successful senior cross country ...
's outdoor record for the slightly shorter 3200 meters. Shortly after, at the
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 ...
, Cain ran the
mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
in 4:28.25. Her time improved upon her own records in the mile and her split time at 1500 also improved upon her records. Her mile time was also more than two seconds faster than
Gelete Burka Gelete Burka Bati (sometimes misspelled ''Burika'', Oromo: Galate Burqaa Baati, Amharic: ገለቴ ቡርቃ; born 23 January 1986) is an Ethiopian middle-distance and long-distance runner. She was born in Kofele in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia ...
's world youth best. Since 2000, the
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
recognizes indoor records that are superior to outdoor records, however the IAAF does not track the mile distance at the youth level. On May 17, 2013 at the Oxy Distance Classic, Cain ran the 1500 meters in 4:04.62, shattering her own high school record from the previous year and breaking Suzy Favor's American junior record (who was almost two years older when she set the record in 1987). In her first
IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
event in June 2013, Cain set an American junior and high school record in the 800 metres with a time of 1:59.51, surpassing
Kim Gallagher Kimberly Ann "Kim" Gallagher (June 11, 1964 – November 18, 2002) was an American middle-distance runner who won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Records National high school records *800 Meters – 2:00.07 *3200 Me ...
's records set in 1982. With her time, she became the first American youth, junior or high school female to break the 2 minute barrier. Cain ran 5,000 meters 15:45.46 in Portland, Oregon at Portland Track Festival on June 8, 2013 to set a
United States high school national records in track and field The list of United States high-school national records in track and field is separated by indoor and outdoor and boys and girls who have set a national record in their respective events. While these records have been compiled for over 100 years, t ...
. At the
2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champions ...
, Cain entered the 1500 and 5000 meters in order to qualify for the
2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...
in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, but later dropped the 5000 from her schedule. In a slow and tactical 1500, Cain led most of the final lap until the last 10 meters when she was passed by training partner Treniere Moser and finished in second place with a time of 4:28.76, thus qualifying for her first senior team as a 17-year-old and becoming the youngest American to ever make a World Championships team. At the 2013 World Championships, Cain qualified for the 1500 meters final by placing 13th in the heats with a time of 4:08.21, and 5th in the semifinals with a time of 4:05.21. In qualifying for the final, she became the youngest athlete ever to run in a 1500 meters final in World Championships history. On November 20, 2013 it was announced that Cain was forgoing a college career in order to run professionally with the Nike Oregon Project. On December 3, 2013 she was named "Youth Athlete of the Year" by
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 ...
. She was also ''
Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...
'' "High School Athlete of the Year."


2014

On January 16, 2014 Cain set a new World Junior Indoor Record in the 1000 meters, running 2:39.25 at the Boston University Multi-Team Meet. Her time knocked about a second off of Diana Richburg's hand timed record from 1982. Cain won the race a breath ahead of Moser, who had passed Cain in the closing steps of the National Championships the previous year.
East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
Katrin Wühn set a faster, automatic time of 2:38.57 almost exactly 30 years earlier in 1984, but that was on an oversized track (a situation very similar to the University of Washington track described above) and therefore that time is not accepted as the record. A week later, in the Boston Terrier Invitational, Cain ran the mile in 4:24.11, improving her American Junior record and missing the world Junior record by .01. Her near even splits were estimated to be 65.5, 66.6, 65.9 and 66.1. On February 8, Cain returned to Boston, across town at the
Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center (RLTAC) is an indoor track and indoor basketball stadium in Roxbury, Massachusetts, partially funded by the state of Massachusetts. It is home to numerous Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Associat ...
at the New Balance Grand Prix to put the doubt about the 1000 metres to rest. Running with an elite field that included training partner Treniere Moser, she destroyed the earlier mark by running 2:35.80 while beating the field. Her mark was just over 1.6 seconds off of the open division American record. Two weeks later she won 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 ...
in the 1500 metres. Moser was her closest competitor, almost 3 seconds back, the next closest competitor was almost 6 seconds back. Cain earned a silver medal at the
2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...
in the 1500 meters in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
on June 27 and 29 running 4:06.34 in the final. Cain won a US Junior Outdoor title in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in the 3000 meters on July 5 running 9:15.81 and qualified for the
2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1995 or later) which was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on 22–27 July 2014. A total of 44 a ...
, in which she won the Gold Medal. Her picture was published on the front cover of the USATF Rule Book for the upcoming 2015 season.


2015

Cain ran a season best 2:02.75 800 meters on Jan 31 at Armory Inv. At the 2015 New York Millrose Games, Cain finished eighth in the women's Wanamaker Mile, a loss she attributed to "growing pains." Cain then raced the 1500 meters at
Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
for the Hoka One One USATF Mid Distance Classic in May - Cain finished 11th in 4:16.48 (almost 12 seconds slower than 2013 in the same meet) representing the Nike Oregon Project. Cain finished 8th in the 1500 meters final at
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 ...
in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
in 4:16.77. Cain's European summer season included season bests
3000 meters The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...
of 9:05.68 in Cork, Ireland 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 ...
of 4:09.08 in
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
, Naimette-Xhovémont.


2016

Now representing the Nike Oregon Project, Cain opened her outdoor season with a time of 4:12.62 in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Drake Relays. A week later at 2016 Oregon Twilight on
Pac-12 Network The Pac-12 Network (P12N; also sometimes referred to as Pac-12 Networks) is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Pac-12 Conference. The network's studio and production facilities are headquart ...
, she placed third in 2:08.50 at 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 ...
invitational at
Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...
in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
. On June 17, she finished third in a 1500 meters race in Boston Games in 4:10.84, behind Rachel Schneider and
Cory McGee Cory Ann McGee (born May 29, 1992) is an American professional middle distance runner and Olympian from Pass Christian, Mississippi. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games she finished 12th in the 1500-meters. She was the 2011 Pan American U20 Champio ...
. On June 23, Cain placed third in the 1500 meters in 4:13.16 and eleventh in the 5000 meters in 15:49.32 at
Mt. Hood Community College Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well a ...
. She earned a 1500 roster spot on Team USA at the 2016
NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics is an under-23 athletics competition held between the member associations of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association The North American, Central American and Caribbean Athlet ...
, and at the 2016 US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. She earned a silver medal at the NACAC championship in
San Salvador, El Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital ...
in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:16.86.


Later

In late 2019, the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' published a video
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
featuring Cain, where she attributed her decline in running performance to adverse coaching in the
Nike Oregon Project The Nike Oregon Project was a group created by the American corporation Nike, established in Beaverton, Oregon in 2001. The team folded on October 10, 2019 after an investigation resulted in a four-year ban of longtime coach Alberto Salazar. Fa ...
. In it, Cain claimed that the head coach,
Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, whe ...
, and his assistants arbitrarily set for her an unreasonably low goal weight, . Cain alleged that Salazar routinely shamed her into meeting this weight, and that this, combined with the training regimens, pushed her body into the syndrome RED-S, involving lost
menses Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of horm ...
, for some three years, whereby she accrued five bone fractures. Subsequently, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' published nine other accounts by former Nike Oregon Project runners, going back to 2008, who confirmed Cain's claims of "an abusive, toxic culture under Salazar." On October 11, 2021, Cain filed a $20 million dollar lawsuit against Salazar and his employer, Nike, accusing them of inflicting emotional and physical abuse.


Major competition record


USA National Championships


Personal bests


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Mary C.. 1996 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners People from Bronxville, New York Track and field athletes from New York City USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen