Shalonda Solomon (born December 19, 1985) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprinter. Her greatest international accomplishment is a silver medal in the 100 m at the

2010 IAAF Continental Cup The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 200 ...

, while representing the Americas team. She qualified for the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

by winning the 200 m 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 Oly ...

. Her 22.15 in winning that race was the world-leading time for 2011. While running in the World Championships, she ran far slower than at the National Championships, finishing a fourth-place in the 200 m behind Jamaican

Veronica Campbell-Brown Veronica Campbell-Brown CD ( Campbell; born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters.

, and American teammates

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter held the title as "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal be ...

and defending champion Allyson Felix. Later in those championships, she won a gold medal by serving on the American

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team in the preliminary rounds, being replaced by Felix in the final. She has a distinct head bob while running, something noticeable since high school.

Biography

While at

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Solomon was named the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for the school year 2003–2004. At the CIF California State Meet, as a freshman in 2001 she finished just 0.02 behind Allyson Felix in the 100 m (and third behind Felix in the 200 m). In 2002 as a sophomore, she finished second to Felix in the 100
see the race
and 200
see the race
and ran on her team's dominant

and 4 × 400 m relay victories, leading her team to the team title., a feat she and her team duplicated in 2003 and in 2004, except after the graduation of Felix, Soloman was beaten by

Bishop Amat Memorial High School Bishop Amat Memorial High School is a co-ed Catholic high school serving the San Gabriel Valley in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and was founded in 1957. The campus is located in La Puente, California, approximately east of dow ...

senio
Jasmin Baldwin
While still in high school, Shalonda Solomon won the USA Junior Outdoor Championship at both 100 m and 200 m. This qualified her to run in the 2003 Pan American Junior Championships in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

for the United States, where she walked away with three gold medals in the two short sprints as well as the 4 × 100 m relay. Her victory at 200 m in 22.93 was a championship record performance. In her senior season in high school, Solomon finished runner-up in the 100 m and 200 m at the CIF State Meet, losing to a strong double win by Jasmine Baldwin, who ran 11.35 at 100 m and 22.86 at 200 m. Solomon did come through victorious in the 4 × 100 m relay and the 4 × 400 m relay, which is why she was voted the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. During the summer of her final season of high school track, she had another great international performance, winning gold in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Solomon moved to the collegiate level at the University of South Carolina, where she ran on their 2005

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 ...

4 × 400 m relay team. The following year she won both the NCAA Indoor and outdoor championship in the 200 m. Shalonda Solomon finished second behind Felix at the

. In 2006 Solomon was named Women's Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Her junior year was limited by a strained left quadriceps muscle. In 2007 Shalonda Solomon announced she would forgo her senior year of eligibility to turn professional after earning 10 NCAA All American honors, ultimately signing with

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

. In 2010, she repeated a second place at the USA National Championships in the 200 m. In 2011, Solomon beat

to win the USA National Championships in the 200 m and qualify for the World Championships. At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), Solomon finished 12th in the 100 m and 20th in the 200 m representing

in 11.29 and 24.17 respectively. In 2013, Solomon finished 5th in the 200 m at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 22.33. In 2014, Solomon finished 5th in the 100 m and 4th in the 200 m 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 Outdoo ...

in 11.40 and 22.54 respectively. In 2015, Solomon represented adidas finished 11th in the 200 m at the

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 i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Shalonda American female sprinters Living people University of South Carolina alumni 1985 births Track and field athletes from Los Angeles USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century American women Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni