National Athlete of the Month | Shannon Rowbury | July 2012

Event: 1,500m
Born: 9/19/1984
College: Duke '07 

Shannon Rowbury has delivered top U.S. performances at recent international championships. First, in  2008 Rowbury turned in the top performance ever by an American woman in the Olympic 1,500m final when she finished seventh in 4:03.58. She then won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships to post the best finish by an American in a world outdoor championships women's 1,500-meter final in 10 years. Rowbury has been on a gradual rise to global prominence as a middle-distance runner since high school. She won the 800 meters at the 2001 National Scholastic Outdoor Championships while attending Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep School in San Francisco, Calif. At the 2011 World Championships, she raced with a leopard-print ribbon on her singlet in memory of her Duke teammate Sally Meyerhoff. She enjoys soccer, film making and competed in Irish dancing for 11 years. 

USA Championships
Two-time USA Outdoor champion – 2008 (4:05.48); 2009 (4:05.07)
2012 Olympic Trials runner-up (4:05.11)
2008 USA Indoor 3,000m champion (8:55.19)
2010 USA Indoor runner-up (4:19.48)
International Championships
2009 World Outdoor bronze medalist (4:04.18)
Collegiate Championships
2007 NCAA Indoor mile (4:44.21) and 3,000m (9:02.73) runner-up