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2008 Olympic 10,000m Bronze Medalist Shalane Flanagan Enters 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships
From USA Track & FieldDecember 14, 2009
Indianapolis, IN
U.S. long distance running standout Shalane Flanagan (28) of Pittsboro, NC, who won a bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, will make her half-marathon debut on January 17 at the 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships hosted by the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
Shalane Flanagan has been one of the best middle-distance runners in the U.S. over the past six years, making two Olympic teams and setting American records on the track at 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m.Photo at left by www.photorun.net: At the 2009 Reebok Boston Indoor Games in February, the women's 5000m race saw Shalane Flanagan (right) set an American Record (14:47.62) while Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia outleaned her and won.
Shalane Flanagan was the USA champion at 5000m in 2005 and 2007, before winning the U.S. Olympic Trials at 10,000m in 2008. That victory sent her to Beijing, where she became only the second American woman in history to medal in that event at the Olympic Games. Her American Record of 30:22:22, set at the 2008 Olympic Games in China, still stands.
Joining Shalane Flanagan on the starting line at the half marathon championships will be the top two finishers from the 2009 national championships. Magdalena Lewy Boulet of Oakland, CA (1:11:47) will defend her title, and runner-up Kelly Jaske of Portland, OR will be a top contender.
Among the men currently committed to run in the National Championship race are 2008 Half Marathon champion James Carney of Lafayette, CO, along with Josh Moen and Patrick Smyth (both of Minneapolis, MN), who finished second and third respectively in the 2009 USA 10 Mile Championships.
Gotcher Steps Up to Marathon
Brett Gotcher (25) of Flagstaff, AZ, who finished third in the 2009 USA Half Marathon Championships, will return to Houston in January, but will move up in distance. Gotcher will make his marathon debut as one of the top seeds in the 38th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon.
The former Stanford University All-American at 10,000m won his first national road title in September, at 20K (58:57), in New Haven, CT. Houston is hosting the men's half marathon championships for the sixth consecutive year, and the women's championship race for the fourth straight time.
For more information on the 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships, see www.usatf.org.