Shannon Rowbury put an emphatic bow tie on her first 1,500m U.S. outdoor title Sunday, claiming the lead with 500 meters left and never relinquishing it.
Since her first competitive 1,500m race this outdoor season on May 4, Rowbury has dropped nearly 11 seconds from her previous personal best. Her turnaround culminated with her win in a time of 4:05.48, winning by three seconds.
“I didn’t expect a year ago to be in the position of a favorite going into the Trials, but I knew I would bring my ‘A’ game whatever it was,” Rowbury said.
Erin Donohue was second in 4:08.20, just ahead of Christin Wurth in 4:08.48.
All three made their first Olympic team.
Rowbury was comfortable in the middle of the pack of 12 runners for almost half the race, letting Treniere Clement take control early. When Clement backed off the pace it was Lindsey Gallo’s turn, running the first 800 meters in 2:15.
Barely two hundred meters later, when the field came out of the wind on the backstretch, Rowbury striked. The 2007 Duke graduate came off the Bowerman curve with a lead that she gradually extended to nearly 15 meters by the finish.
“I had a few plans depending on how the race went,” Rowbury said. “I was very confident in myself and my training. I had confidence in myself and I just went in with a good attitude.”
Donohue and Wurth spent the final 100 battling each other for silver, passing on the right at the finish.
Donohue and Wurth flip-flopped their third-and second-place finishes from last year’s U.S. outdoor championships Sunday. In the most stressful race of her young career, Donohue, a North Carolina alumna, did it by simply relaxing.
“The plan really was just to relax,” she said. “Really it just executed really well and I felt in control the whole way.”
With an Olympic team on the line, she chose a good time to do it.
“It’s tough in track and field, it’s not like an NBA season or an NFL season where there’s always another championship,” she said. “Your focal point every four years are the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games.”
Wurth’s lack of a finishing kick lost her a spot in the standings, but her Olympic ticket had already been won.
“My thought was at 500 meters to go with all I had, but my legs were heavy,” Wurth said. “I felt good until I got on the track. I don’t know if it was nerves or what.”
The 1,500m received considerable attention with high school record holder Jordan Hasay in the race (see sidebar). Hasay finished in 10th place and is now off to Poland for the World Junior Championships.
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