For about the past four years, Shelby Houlihan has been working to improve on her 11th place finish in the 5,000-meter run in her first Olympic appearance at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Over that time, Houlihan, an East High School graduate, has been consistently improving. In 2018, she set the American record in the 5,000 with a time of 14:34.45, cutting 26 seconds off her personal best 34 seconds from her time at the Rio Olympics.
She also set the national best in the 1,500-meter run in October in 3:54.99, good for fourth at the 2019 World Outdoor Championships. Houlihan went on to win the 3,000-meter and 1,500-meter finals at the USATF Indoor National Championships in February, giving her 13 U.S. titles.
Houlihan felt like she was in top form as the U.S. Olympic Trials in June approached.
