Shannon Rowbury (born September 19, 1984) is an American middle-distance runner from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. After competing collegiately for

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented 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 territorie ...

at the

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, and

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. She also represented the United States at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, winning the bronze medal in the

1500 Year 1500 (Roman numerals, MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, ...

meters in 2009. In 2015, Rowbury helped set the world record with the U.S. team for 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. U ...

event, and set a then-American record for 1500 meters on July 17, 2015, breaking Mary Slaney's 32 year-old mark with a time of 3:56.29.

Personal life

Rowbury was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the Parkside section of the

Sunset District The Sunset District is a neighborhood located in the southwest quadrant of San Francisco, California, United States. Location The Sunset District is the largest neighborhood within the city and county of San Francisco. Golden Gate Park forms the ...

neighborhood in San Francisco. In 2002, Rowbury graduated from

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC or SH, is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and wa ...

High School in San Francisco. Rowbury attended

and studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and competed on the cross country and track and field teams for the school. In 2007, Rowbury graduated from Duke

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in English and Theater Studies with a certificate in Film/Video/Digital Studies. She completed her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at Duke in May 2008, with an emphasis on

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

. In April 2007, Rowbury was diagnosed with a femoral neck stress fracture (hip joint), which abruptly put an end to her collegiate career at Duke University. Rowbury married

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

-American runner

Pablo Solares Pablo Solares-Rowbury (born December 22, 1984 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico) is a Mexican middle-distance runner. He holds the Mexican national records for the 800 meters, 1500 meters and indoor mile. Solares represented Mexico in the 1500m a ...

on April 11, 2015. She gave birth to their daughter on June 30, 2018.

Running career

Collegiate

Rowbury set a school record for the mile in the indoor track season as a freshman at Duke. In her sophomore year she earned indoor All-American status, finishing in 8th place at the NCAA championships in the mile. In her junior year season she anchored Duke's first victorious distance medley relay team. As a senior, she helped Duke place third at the NCAA cross country championships. She redshirted her indoor and outdoor seasons of her senior year, but set Duke school records in the 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and steeplechase, the latter at 9.59.4.;

2007

Rowbury signed with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

in June 2007. Her first six months of training under John Cook involved rehabilitation from her stress fracture. In November 2007, Rowbury competed at the Seagate Elite 5K Road Race in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

to assess her current fitness level coming back from her injury. She managed a second-place finish, with a time of 15:54.

2008

In January 2008, Rowbury enjoyed her first extended stint at altitude in central Mexico where she trained for six weeks with her coach and teammates. She returned to the United States in February to compete in 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 ...

, her first track race since her injury 11 months earlier. Rowbury went on to win the 3000 m in a personal best time of 8:55.19. In April 2008, Rowbury opened up her outdoor track campaign at the Duke Invitational, winning the 800 m by 12 seconds with a two-second personal best time of 2:02.76. Her next race was in early May at the Payton Jordon Invitational at Stanford University where she hoped to achieve the Olympic A standard at 1500 m (4:07.00). Although Rowbury came up short of her goal while racing at Stanford, she did manage a five-second personal best at this distance with a time of 4:07.59. Still seeking the Olympic A standard, Rowbury raced at the

Adidas Track Classic The Adidas Track Classic is an American track and field athletics meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area mee ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

on May 18, 2008. In the 1500 m, she won with a time of 4:01.61, improving another six seconds over her previous personal best. This performance placed Rowbury her 5th all-time at 1500 m for

females. In addition, her effort would have placed her 9th in the world rankings based on the 2007

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 ...

world performance list. This performance gave her the Olympic A standard that she needed heading into the

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 ...

Olympic Trials. On July 6, 2008 at the USATF Olympic Trials 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 ...

, Rowbury placed first in the 1500 m final with a time of 4:05.48, followed by

Erin Donohue Erin Donohue (born May 8, 1983) is an American athlete who competes in middle-distance track events. Donohue qualified for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meters. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donohue compete ...

and Christin Wurth-Thomas. The three qualified to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics based on their performance at the trials. Rowbury had the fourth-fastest time in the first-round heats of the women's 1500 m run in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, qualifying for the finals. She was the only American athlete to advance to the finals, where she placed seventh with a time of 4:03.58. Her seventh-place finish was (as of then) the best finish ever by an American woman in the 1500 meters at the modern Olympics.

2009

Rowbury retained her 1500 m title at the 2009 US Championships, beating Christin Wurth-Thomas and qualifying for the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. At the 2009 World Championships, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Rowbury captured the bronze medal in a time of 4:04.18. A month later she won her first

Fifth Avenue Mile The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual road race on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States. The race begins at 80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to 60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by N ...

, narrowly edging out Lisa Dobriskey,

Sara Hall Sara Hall (née Bei; born April 15, 1983) is a professional American distance runner. She won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the Athletics at the Pan American Games, 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico representing the United States. ...

and Wurth-Thomas.

2010

In 2010, Rowbury finished second in the 1500 meters at the US Indoor Championships, and third at the US Championships outdoors. On July 22, 2010, Rowbury improved her personal best in the 3000 m by 23 seconds with a time of 8:31.38, which was the third-best mark in U.S. history. Rowbury won the 2010 edition of the

on September 26, 2010.

2011

In 2011, Rowbury finished third at the US Championships, qualifying her for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. There, she qualified for the semifinals, but was eliminated from the competition in the semifinal race.

2012

Rowbury finished second at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in 2012, qualifying her for her second consecutive Olympics.

Morgan Uceny Morgan Uceny (born March 10, 1985) is a retired United States, American track and field athlete who specialized in middle distance running. Uceny won three national championships and was the 2011 IAAF Diamond League Champion at 1500 meters. She ...

, who finished first at the trials, and

Jenny 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 Americ ...

, who finished third, also competed with Rowbury at the London Olympics. Rowbury initially finished sixth in the 1500 meters race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. At the time, her sixth-place finish was the best finish ever by an American woman in the 1500 meters at the modern Olympics. She was later upgraded to fourth after

Aslı Çakır Alptekin Aslı Çakır Alptekin (born 20 August 1985 in Antalya) is a former Turkish female middle-distance runner. A member of the Üsküdar Belediyespor in Istanbul, she is coached by her husband, runner Ihsan Alptekin. She was banned for life for r ...

and Gamze Bulut were both disqualified for doping. Six of the top nine finishers in the event (not including Rowbury) were later either disqualified or linked to performance-enhancing drug use, with ESPN labeling it "one of the dirtiest acesin Olympic history".

2013

Rowbury began her season at the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

, finishing fourth in the 1500m with a time of 4:09.05. After finishing fourth in the 1500 meters at the

Championships in June 2013 in a slow, tactical final, Rowbury was left off the world championships team in the 1500 metres, her main event. She later finished third in the 5000 meters at the USATF Championships, qualifying her for her third consecutive

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

team. Because Treniere Moser, who was on the world championships team for the 1500 meters, pulled out of the 1500 meters at the Moscow world championships due to a hamstring injury, Rowbury could have run the 1500 meters at the world championships, but was forced to run the 5000 meters due to a technicality. Rowbury finished 7th in the 5000 meters in Moscow at the 2013 IAAF World Championship, just behind her compatriot

Molly Huddle Molly Huddle (born August 31, 1984) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. Huddle set the American record in the 5000 m at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42. ...

. After the 2013 season, Rowbury's coach, John Cook, retired, and she switched coaches to

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 ...

, becoming a member of 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 ...

2014

Rowbury began her season 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, finishing fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.72 on January 18, 2014. She was the runner-up in the 3000 meters in 9:25.49 at

2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place February 21–23 in conjunction with the USA Ind ...

on February 22, 2014. On June 27, 2014, Rowbury finished second in the 5,000 meters US outdoor title in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

with a time of 15:01.71, being passed by

in the final meters, who won in 15:01.56. After many years of trying Rowbury broke the four-minute barrier for the first time in the 1500m at the prestigious

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 ...

meeting on July 5. She recorded a time of 3:59.49 seconds. Just two weeks later at the

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

meeting she recorded a new lifetime best in the 5000m finishing behind American Record holder

in the race. Her time of 14:48.68 saw her go under the 15 minute barrier for the first time and slice 12 seconds off her previous personal best. She became the fourth-fastest American women ever over the distance.

2015

Rowbury, still training under

, raced in five indoor races with her capstone performances earning gold medals in 4:34.40 mile and 9:43.94 two-mile at

.
Rowbury won 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 ...

women's Wanamaker mile in 4:24.32. Rowbury was runner up in the 1500 m in 4:14.99 in

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

. On July 17, 2015, Rowbury broke the American record in the 1500 m at the Diamond League competition in Monaco, with a time of 3:56.29. Rowbury made it to the final in the

2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres The women's 1500 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22, 23 and 25 August. Summary Abeba Aregawi of Sweden entered as the defending champion, although her preparations that year were ...

, leading on a slow first 800m, and finishing 7th in 4:12.39. On September 11, at

finale in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Rowbury placed 3rd in the mile in 4:22.10, just ahead of

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 ...

who finished in 4:22.18. On September 13, Rowbury placed 2nd in a time of 4:29.3 at

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

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 ...

, just behind Simpson at 4:29.0.

2016

On February 20, 2016 Rowbury won the

women's Wanamaker Mile for the second year in a row, finishing in 4:24.39 On March 12 Rowbury won the

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 ...

in 8:55.65 at 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She won the bronze medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships behind

Genzebe Dibaba Genzebe Dibaba Keneni (Oromo language, Oromo: ''Ganzabee Dibaabaa Qananii''; Amharic: ገንዘቤ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 8 February 1991) is an Ethiopian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. A 150 ...

and

Meseret Defar Meseret Defar Tola (Amharic: መሠረት ደፋር; born 19 November 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including O ...

in the same event. After finishing second at the US Olympic Trials, Rowbury went on to finish 4th in the 1500m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, behind her compatriot

. On August 27, 2016, Rowbury finished 4th in the

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 ...

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

, Paris, in 3:58.00. On September 1 in the Diamond League 1500m final in Zurich, Rowbury outleaned

Laura Muir Laura Muir (born 9 May 1993) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze med ...

, running a season's best time of 3:57.78. This was Rowbury's first ever 1500m victory in a Diamond League meeting. On September 9, Rowbury finished 5th in the 5000m in the Brussels Diamond League, breaking

's U.S. 5000m record, finishing in a time of 14:38.92.

2017

On April 2, 2017, Rowbury was second in the road 5k

Carlsbad 5000 The Carlsbad 5000 is an annual five kilometer (3.1 mile) road running event that takes place each spring in the city of Carlsbad, California along the north coast of San Diego County. Organization The event is organized by Groundwork Endurance, a ...

finishing in 15:36, 1 second behind Viola Lagat.

2020

Rowbury was training for the 2020 U.S. Olympic track and field trials and aiming to make her fourth Olympic team. She suffered a stress fracture after the trials were rescheduled to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not enter the trials as a result.

Competition record

USA National Championships

Outdoor track and field

Indoor track and field

Personal bests

References

External links

* * * * *
Shannon Rowbury at Duke University Blue Devils
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowbury, Shannon 1984 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female steeplechase runners Duke Blue Devils women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from San Francisco World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics record holders (relay) Duke Blue Devils women's cross country runners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners