By now you’ve already seen or heard about Shannon Rowbury’s 1500m American record. If you didn’t, it came during a race where Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba set the new world record, a blistering 3:50.07. Dibaba’s world record, a feat that many believed nearly impossible seeing that no one had come close to it since 1997, is incredible. But we’re going to sit back and reflect on the Americans in this race, particularly Rowbury and Jenny Simpson. More specifically, the depth of the middle distance women in the U.S. and how we’ve entered quite a special time as track nerds.

Rowbury’s American record of 3:56.29 bettered Mary Slaney’s 3:57.12 from 1983. Slaney ran that time in 1983, the year she won two gold medals at the world championships in the 1500m and 3000m. She was the world record-setter of the 1980s, similar to Dibaba in today’s time.

It took nearly 32 years for Slaney’s 1500m mark to break, and now we have two ladies capable of medaling on the world stage (because I know they already have in previous years but this is focused on 2015 people!).

Rowbury and Simpson, whose personal best of 3:57.22 almost broke the record in 2014, were thought of as “locks” at the 2015 U.S. Championships. With both dipping under 4:00 in 2014 (Most famously their dive in Zurich), they stood out in the American-heavy Prefontaine Classic 1500m, where four others broke 4:05.

I was silly to think Rowbury was a solid No. 2 behind Simpson, or was I? Simpson’s dominance at Pre, Rome, and the National Championships made her the favorite, in my opinion, as the one to take down Slaney’s record. She’s also medaled at both of the past world championships in this event. With the race in Monaco going on, dear Ryan Fenton said to me, “Oh, Shannon Rowbury is going to break the American record in this race!” to which I responded with, “No she isn’t! Jenny’s in this race!”

That time you told @meg_bellino that @ShannonRowbury would get the American record before #MonacoDL and she thinks you're crazy

— Ryan Fenton (@ryanflotrack) July 17, 2015

Was that wrong of me to assume? Before Monaco, Rowbury's PB was 3:59 and Simpson was .1 off of the record last season. Everyone’s always talking about the Simpson-Rowbury rivalry, but Simpson cleared that up after her disappointing fourth-place in Monaco.



Rivalries aside, the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Rio Olympics will be a thrill for fans of American middle distances. 14 U.S. women went under the 4:06.50 IAAF 1500m standard so far this season. American qualifiers No. 3 and 4 for Beijing smashed their PB’s en route to qualifying for Beijing. Kerri Gallagher ran 4:03 in Lignano on her first try, while Lauren Johnson ran 4:04 in Heusden, proving third time’s a charm for standard chasing. This doesn’t even include some of the ladies who didn’t qualify for Beijing. Sarah Brown, Alexa Efraimson and Katie Mackey ran 4:03 at Pre, Efraimson etching herself into the record books as the new American junior record-holder. Mary Cain held the title before her and was a 1500m finalist in Moscow 2013.

People! Get excited! I haven’t even brought up the women’s 800m yet! 17 American women have run faster than 2:01 in 2015. Ajee Wilson ran the fastest time in the world in 2014, 1:57.67. She came so close to that time at Pre, running 1:57.87 to finish second behind reigning world champion Eunice Sum. Brenda Martinez is the reigning world bronze medalist, and Alysia Montano is defying all odds one year after giving birth to her daughter and running 1:59.15 to win the U.S. title. All three of these ladies are capable of making the final in Beijing, but look at the times from other American women in this event in 2015 alone.

2015 U.S. Top 10:
1:57.87 Ajee Wilson
1:58.68 Molly Ludlow
1:59.06 Brenda Martinez
1:59.10 Chanelle Price
1:59.15 Alysia Montano
1:59.71 Raevyn Rogers
2:00.05 Maggie Vessey
2:00.42 Treniere Moser
2:00.48 Lauren Wallace
2:00.53 Shannon Rowbury

Have we ever been so fortunate to witness this much depth and greatness in American middle distance running? The month of August is approaching, and just like Martinez surprising everyone by medaling in Moscow (the first American woman to ever medal in the 800m at a world championship), the seven ladies representing the U.S. in Beijing are all more than capable of mixing it up with the world’s best and bringing home medals. And, just because I love this interview, here's Martinez after winning bronze.