Shalane Flanagan -Making Noise in the Marathon

Aug 4, 2012 by Justin Britton

Shalane Flanagan Photo Timeline

From the US of A, she is the Indoor record holder for both the 3000/5000m and the 10000m outdoor, won a Bronze medal in the 10000m in Beijing Olympics in 2008 and a Bronze medal at the IAAF World XC Championships in 2011, she is..Shalane Flanagan.

It's been said that this years field in the Women's Marathon may be the strongest one yet, (that's even with the abscence of Paula Radcliffe) but Shalane is determined to make her country proud and get on that podium.

2000 Flanagan had a stellar career at Marblehead High School in Massachusetts, which led to her competing in college at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

2002 & 2003 Shalane won back-to-back NCAA XC titles at UNC. Pictured here battling Providence's Kim Smith. (Smith also in the Marathon, for New Zealand)

2004 Shalane turned Professional, won the USA XC Championships and placed 14th at the IAAF World XC Championships. Also placed 20th in '05!

2004 Summer of Athens Games, Shalane made her Olympic debut in the 5000m, although not reaching the final.

2006 Did not compete due to injury with an extra bone in foot.

2006 Time off didn't hurt Shalane all too much as she bounced back to become both the US Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the 3000m/5000m respectively.

2007 Even better as Shalane kept rolling each race and when she ran at Mt. Sac that Spring she ran 14:44.80s to snag the 5000m American Record!

2008 Shalane Flanagan really started to become a household name. She ran down the 10000m American Record running 30:34.49 at Mt. Sac!

2008 She also booked her ticket to the Olympic Games in Beijing after winning USA's again, in the 10000m and also the 5000m. Pictured here with training partner, Kara Goucher.

2008 She throws down at the Olympics! Shalane finished 10th in the 5000m and 3rd in the 10000m, becoming only the 2nd American Woman to medal in the 10000m, ever.

Yeah...crazy, huh.

During that crazy 10000m race in Beijing, she also broke the AR again! 30:22.22s

2009 After changing coaches to join Coach Jerry Schumacher Shalane finished 14th in the 10000m at the World Championships in Berlin, not the follow up to the bronze that she had expected.

2010 Flanagan ran her 1st 1/2 Marathon she set a course record in Houston running 1:09.45s!

2010 Later that year, Flanagan ran 2:28 to place 2nd in the NYC Marathon, the best finish for an American woman in nearly 20 years! The transition to Jerry is a success.

2011 Shalane finished a spectacular 3rd at the IAAF World XC Champs, leading the US team to a bronze finish.

2011 Shalane won the 10000m at USA's and then finished 7th at the World Outdoor Championships (the first non-African) in a time of 31:25.57s. After success on the roads it was tough to get back to the 2008 level we shaw on the track against the world's best.

2012 In January Flanagan won the USA Marathon trials and also set a record for the Houston course, 2:25.38s. The time was her fastest ever.

2012 Still healthy and fit this year, she defeated a solid field in the Lisbon 1/2 marathon, her final race on the roads leading to the Olympic marathon. Shalane did run the US Olympic Trials in the 10k (for a workout/check point) where she finished 3rd.

2012 Just a few weeks ago a local newspaper re-tells us what we know..Shalane Flanagan is the real deal and we will see her fight till the end in London all 26.2 miles.