SHANNON ROWBURY

Event: 1,500m
Height: 5-5
Weight: 115
PR: 800m - 2:00.94 (2009); 1,500m – 4:00.33 (2008); 3,000m - 8:55.19 (2008); 5,000m - 15:12.95 (2009)
Born: September 19, 1984 in San Francisco, Calif.
Current Residence: San Francisco, Calif.
High School: Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep ‘02
College: Duke ‘07
Coach: John Cook
Agent: Peter Stubbs
Club: Nike

Career Highlights: 2009 World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist; 2009 USA Outdoor champion; 2008 Olympic Trials champion; 2008 USA Indoor champion; 2007 NCAA Indoor mile champion and 3,000m runner-up

Two-time USA champion and 2008 Olympic Games seventh place finisher Shannon Rowbury posted the best finish by an American in a world outdoor championships women's 1,500-meter final in 10 years at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin. And then it got better. Rowbury was up near the front the entire way in the final and trailed Great Britain's Lisa Dobriskey by a few yards down the final stretch. Although Rowbury couldn't catch her, she finished fourth in 4:04.18, which was the highest finish by an American in this event since Regina Jacobs placed second in 1999 in Seville, Spain. However, during the last lap, race winner Natalia Rodriguez of Spain tripped Ethiopia's Gelete Burka from behind. Following the race Rodriguez was disqualified and Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN) was declared the winner (4:03.74). Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain (4:03.75) was awarded the silver medal, and Rowbury became the bronze medalist. In 2008, Rowbury turned in the top performance ever by an American woman in the Olympic 1,500m final. She ran a smart race from the gun, positioning herself in the top six and out of trouble as the pace came through at 65.90 for 400m and 2:13.70 for 800m. She finished seventh in 4:03.58, the highest placing for an American in the event...Rowbury entered the Olympic Trials as the prohibitive favorite in the women's 1,500 meters, and she delivered in convincing fashion. Strong and swirling winds kept the field packed tightly through the first two laps. Just past 1,000m, Rowbury took off and put on an impressive display of confident running and crossed the finish line in 4:05.48 - a very fast time in unfavorable winds…On May 18, 2008 at the adidas Track Classic, Rowbury won the 1,500 meters in four minutes, 1.06 seconds. It was the fifth-best time in U.S. history and under the Olympic "A" qualifying standard. That effort followed her first competitive 1,500 meters of the outdoor season on May 4 when Rowbury ran a then-personal best 4:07:59 at the Cardinal Invitational in California, almost five seconds faster than her previous top time… Rowbury has been on a gradual rise to global prominence as a middle-distance runner. She won the 800 meters at the 2001 National Scholastic Outdoor Championships while attending Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep School in San Francisco, Calif. At Duke University, she finished second in the mile at the 2005 NCAA indoor championships and won the Atlantic Coast Conference Southeast Region cross-country title that fall. She set her previous personal best in the 1,500 meters in July 2006 following redshirt indoor and outdoor seasons at Duke. In 2007, she won the NCAA Indoor mile title and finished as the runner-up in the 3,000m. A stress fracture in her hip knocked her out of the 2007 outdoor season…enjoys soccer and Irish dancing. Her official website is www.shannonrowbury.com.

2009: World Outdoor Champs bronze medalist (4:04.18)...USA Outdoor champion (4:05.07)…USATF Road Mile champion (4:33.4)...6th at Nike Prefontaine Classic (4:03.92)...4th at Zurich (4:00.81)...5th at World Athletics Final (4:14.18)...best of 4:00.81.
2008: 7th at Olympic Games (4:03.58), 4th in heats (4:03.89)...Olympic Trials champion (4:05.48)...2nd at Paris (4:00.33)...5th at World Athletic Final (4:08.16)...4th in 800m at Nike Prefontaine Classic (2:01.03)…1st at adidas Track Classic (4:01.61)…USA Indoor 3,000m champion (8:55.19)…1st at Payton Jordan Invite (4:07.59)…1st in 800m at Duke Invite (2:02.76)...ranked #6 in the world (#1 U.S.) by T&FN...best of 4:00.33.
2007: NCAA Indoor mile champion (4:44217) and 3,000m runner-up (9:02.73)…did not compete outdoors due to injury (hip stress fracture)
2006: 6th at USA Outdoors (4:12.86)…NACAC U23 champion (4:20.57)…1st at Bloomington (4:12.31)…9th in 3,000m at adidas Track Classic (9:03.61)…redshirted indoor and outdoor collegiate seasons…55th at NCAA XC…NCAA Southeast region XC champion…ACC XC champion…ranked #9 in the U.S. by T&FN…best of 4:12.31.
2005: 8th at NCAA Outdoors…ACC Outdoor 1500m champion (4:14.81)…ECAC Indoor 800m runner-up (2:06.58)… NCAA Southeast Region Indoor Athlete of the Year…set school records in the 800m (2:06.58), Mile (4:38.66), 3000m (9:16.86) and DMR (11:14.30) indoors and in the 1500m (4:14.81) and DMR (11:10.18) outdoors.

9/08/09