Shelby Houlihan
Houlihan winning the 1500 meters at the 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Personal information
Full nameShelby Christine Prince Houlihan
NationalityAmerican
Born (1993-02-08) February 8, 1993
Sioux City, Iowa
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1]
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)5000 meters
1500 meters
800 meters
College teamArizona State University Sun Devils
ClubBowerman Track Club
Turned pro2015
Coached byJerry Schumacher
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Representing the  United States
NACAC U23
Gold medal – first place2014 Kamloops800 m
Representing Americas
Continental Cup
Silver medal – second place2018 Ostrava1500 m

Shelby Houlihan (born February 8, 1993) is an American middle distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500m relay who is currently serving a ban. Houlihan competed in the 5000m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, finishing 11th. She is a 12-time US National Champion winning seven indoor and five outdoor titles in middle-distance events. While at Arizona State University she won the 2014 NCAA 1500m championship.

Personal life

Shelby Houlihan was born in Sioux City, Iowa. Her mother and uncle were both competitive runners, as well as her half-sister.[2]

High school

Houlihan attended East High School in Sioux City. She held high school personal records of 4:43.64 in the one mile run, 2:07.35 in the 800 meter run, and 4:26.39 in the 1500 meter run.[3] She was the 2011 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year awards Girls Track and Field Runner of the Year and the 2010 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year awards Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. She claimed eight Drake Relays crowns, while also earning the title of Drake Relays Outstanding Female High School Performer for being the first female athlete from a high school to win three events in one year. Houlihan graduated from East in 2011.[4]

NCAA

Houlihan attended Arizona State University for college. She was the 2014 NCAA champion in the 1500 meters at Arizona State University as a junior.[5] She was the first student at Arizona State University to win a national individual title in the outdoor 1,500.

Houlihan was a 12-time NCAA Division I All-American, the second most in Arizona State history,[6][1] and an NCAA Track champion.[3] She holds Arizona State Sun Devils school records in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, one mile, and 3000 meters.[7][8]

International

Houlihan began competing for Nike and the Bowerman Track Club under coach Jerry Schumacher in 2015. She was among seven women who were trained by Schumacher who made it to the Olympics. Houlihan said of her teammates, "After watching all of my teammates make the team, I knew that I could do the same. The prelim felt very easy and gave me a lot of confidence going into the final. I thought the final would most likely be much faster, but I knew I was fit and capable of handling a fast pace." She also stated, "It's just amazing to have teammates be able to push me every day. It's something I've never had before. Even that has put me above and beyond what I've done before. Obviously, I made the right decision for me."[9]

2014 NACAC

Houlihan qualified for the 2014 North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Championship in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada where Houlihan won gold in the 800 meters in 2:03.00 ahead of Rachel Francois and Jenna Westaway.[10]

2016 Olympics

Houlihan qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's 5000 meters after finishing second in the US trials to Molly Huddle.[11] When she finished the race, Houlihan cried. Houlihan said of the moment, "I've been working for that moment my entire life and for it all to come together and happen was one of the most amazing experiences of my life".[12]

Houlihan placed fourth in her heat in the 5000 m preliminary at the Olympics, qualifying her for the final.[13][14] Houlihan placed 11th in the 5000m final with a time of 15:08.89, finishing as the highest-placing American.[4] After the race, she said, "I didn't place as high as I wanted to, and I've got to take that as a learning step and just try to move forward and make me stronger. I wouldn't have guessed I'd be doing the 5K this year. Ideally, I'd like to stick with it. Once I get the (mileage) volume up and get more aerobically strong, I'm going to be even more of a threat. I'm excited to see where that could take me."

Houlihan's hometown minor league hockey team, the Sioux City Musketeers, honored her after the Olympics with an ovation and ceremonial first puck.[15]

Late 2016 season

Houlihan placed 6th in 4:23.0 at the 2016 Fifth Avenue Mile.[16]

2017

Houlihan qualified for the London 2017 World Championships in the women's 5000 meters after winning the 5000 meters at the 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Houlihan ran 15:00.37 to place 3rd in the preliminaries and ran 15:06.40 to place 13th in the final.

2018

At the 2018 World Indoor Championships, making up more than 10 meters on the final lap, Houlihan passed Fantu Worku to place 5th (8:50.38) in the 3000 meters final and 4th in 4:11.93 at the 1500 meters final for the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships after winning the 3000 meters (9:00.08) and the 1500 meters (4:13.07) titles at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On July 21, 2018, Houlihan ran the 5000 m in 14:34.45 in Heusden, Belgium. Assisted by pacer Shalane Flanagan, Houlihan broke Shannon Rowbury's 2016 American record of 14:38.92.[17]

Houlihan placed second in the 1500 m at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.

2019

At the 2019 World Outdoor Championships, Houlihan set a personal best and new American record of 3:54.99 in the final of the 1500m, finishing in 4th place.[18]

2020

On July 10, at a Bowerman Track Club time trial, Houlihan broke her own American record in the 5000m in a time of 14:23.92, just ahead of teammate Karissa Schweizer in 14:26.34.[19][20] On July 31, Houlihan, along with Colleen Quigley, Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer established a World Record in the women's 4x1500 meters relay with a time of 16:27.02, eclipsing the previous World Record of 16:33.58 set by a quartet of Kenyan runners on 25 May 2014. The record was ratified in December 2020.[21]

2021: Doping suspension

On June 11, 2021, Houlihan received a four-year ban, retroactive to January 14 of the same year, from the sport due to testing positive for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid ostensibly used to increase muscle mass. Houlihan said the positive result might have come from her eating contaminated pork the night before the test.[22] Houlihan appealed her suspension to CAS, who upheld the ban. She will be eligible to compete again starting January 13, 2025.[23][24]

Beer Mile World Classic

During her doping suspension, Houlihan was allowed to participate in the Beer Mile World Classic's "Legends & Elites Race." She won the women's division and set a new world record of 5:43.81, becoming the first woman to break six-minutes. However, due to her ban from USATF events, organizers did not allow Houlihan to compete in the women's championship beer mile.[25][26]


Championship results

US National ChampionshipEventVenuePlaceTime
2020 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships[27]3000mAlbuquerque, New Mexico1st8:52.03
1500m1st4:06.41
2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships[28]5000mDes Moines, Iowa1st15:15.50
1500m1st4:03.18
2019 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships[29]2 MileOcean Breeze, New York1st9:31.38
1 Mile2nd4:29.92
2019 USA Cross Country Championships[30]10 kmTallahassee, Florida1st32:47
2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships[31]5000mDes Moines, Iowa1st15:31.03
1500m1st4:05.48
2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships[32]3000mAlbuquerque, New Mexico1st9:00.08
1500m1st4:13.07
2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships5000 mSacramento, California1st15:13.87
2017 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships1 MileAlbuquerque, New Mexico1st4:45.18
2 Mile1st10:19.14
2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)5000 metersEugene, Oregon2nd15:06.14
2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships3000mPortland, Oregon5th9:01.11
2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships1500mEugene, Oregon10th4:17.15
2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships800mSacramento, California7th2:01.12

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Shelby Houlihan - Track & Field". Arizona State University Athletics.
  2. ↑ Naughton, John (August 2, 2016). "From Iowa to Rio: Shelby Houlihan racing her way to Rio". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Shelby Houlihan Biography". TheSunDevils.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  4. 1 2 Journal Staff (August 19, 2016). "Houlihan finishes 11th in 5,000". Sioux City Journal. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. ↑ Metcalfe, Jeff (August 19, 2016). "ASU's Shelby Houlihan places 11th in Olympic 5,000-meter final". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ "nextleveliowa.com". ww12.nextleveliowa.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  7. ↑ "ASU Outdoor Record Book - Women Page 12" (PDF). June 1, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ "2017 Arizona State University Outdoor Track and Field Record Book" (PDF). October 16, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ Portland's Shelby Houlihan passes pack to qualify for Olympics in women's 5,000 Archived 2016-07-12 at the Wayback MachineThe Oregonian
  10. ↑ 2014 North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Under 23 Championship Results in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada Archived 2019-12-20 at the Wayback Machine USATF
  11. ↑ "Portland's Shelby Houlihan passes pack to qualify for Olympics in women's 5,000". oregonlive.com. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  12. ↑ Metcalfe, Jeff (August 16, 2016). "Iowa native Shelby Houlihan advances in Olympic 5K". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics Results and Live Scores | NBC Olympics". Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  14. ↑ Richardson, Ian (August 16, 2016). "Sioux City cheers as Houlihan qualifies for Olympic finals". Sioux City Journal. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ "photos from Sioux City Musketeers hockey night". Sioux City Musketeers. September 27, 2016. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  16. ↑ New Balance 5th Avenue Mile Professional Women nyrrc.org. Retrieved by September 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ Shelby Houlihan breaks 5000 m record Archived 2018-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Flotrack
  18. ↑ 1500 METRES WOMEN IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS, DOHA 2019 QATARDOHA, QATAR 27 SEP 2019 - 06 OCT 2019 Archived 5 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine IAAF
  19. ↑ "Shelby Houlihan Smashes Her 5k U.S. Record In 14:23, Schweizer Runs 14:26 - FloTrack". www.flotrack.org. Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  20. ↑ "Moh Ahmed and Shelby Houlihan set North American 5k Records! || Portland Intrasquad Meet II". Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2020-07-12 – via www.youtube.com.
  21. ↑ Ramsak, Bob (22 December 2020). "Ratified: USA's 16:27.02 world 4x1500m record". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  22. ↑ OlympicTalk (2021-06-14). "American record holder Shelby Houlihan receives four-year ban week before Olympic track trials". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  23. ↑ Ingle, Sean (2021-09-01). "Cas says 'close to zero' probability burrito led to Shelby Houlihan's failed drugs test". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  24. ↑ "Shelby Houlihan Final CAS Decision" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  25. ↑ ""Shelby Houlihan returns to public racing, sets record in 'Beer Mile World Classic'"". 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  26. ↑ ""Shelby Houlihan Returns to Racing at Beer Mile World Classic"". 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  27. ↑ 2020 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships results USATF
  28. ↑ "2018 US Outdoor championship Results". usatf.org. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  29. ↑ "2019 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships results". usatf.org. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  30. ↑ "2019 USA Cross Country results". usatf.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  31. ↑ USATF 2018 Outdoor Championship Results
  32. ↑ "Results". results.usatf.org. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
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