Linda Sheskey (born Linda Detlefsen on October 18, 1962, nka Linda Nicosia) is a retired middle distance runner from the United States. She competed in the 1980s and 90s for her native country. While running for the University of Georgia, she became the first women's NCAA champion for that school. [1] She was the 1986 National Champion at 1500 meters. [2] She was also the 1989 Indoor champion [3] both times representing Athletics West. Sheskey set her personal best in the women's 1,500 metres event (4:04.89) on July 16, 1987, at the Meeting de Paris in Paris, France. Later that year she was the Pan American Games champion.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States | |||||
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 8th | 1500 m | 4:10.92 |
| 1987 | Pan American Games | Indianapolis, United States | 1st | 1500 m | 4:07.84 |
| World Championships | Rome, Italy | 10th | 1500 m | 4:08.33 | |
| 1990 | Goodwill Games | Seattle, United States | 8th | 1500 m | 4:14.96 |
| 1991 | Pan American Games | Havana, Cuba | 8th | 1500 m | 4:31.59 |
Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence is a retired American sprinter and Olympic champion. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because of her athletic abilities, but she said she wasn't interested because she initially wanted to become a beautician. From the persuasion from her coaches and family, she chose to enroll to the University of Georgia.
Chaunté Lowe is an American athlete who competes in the high jump. A four-time Olympian, she is the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2005 World Championship silver medalist and the 2012 World Indoor gold medalist. She initially finished sixth in the 2008 Olympic high jump final, but was promoted to the bronze medal in 2016 after three competitors were disqualified for doping. She is the American record holder in the women's high jump with an outdoor clearance of 2.05 m in 2010, and holds the indoor record with a clearance of 2.02 m in 2012.
Geena Gall, is an Olympic American mid-distance runner who ran for the University of Michigan. Gall's achievements include back to back NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m in 2008 and 2009, representing the USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany in the 800m. She also competed at the North American Central American Caribbean Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2007 and Toluca, Mexico in 2008. Gall was a member of the "Fab Four" who set two collegiate records at the 2007 Penn Relays, a ten-time NCAA All-American, owning two Big Ten 800 meter records and two DMR records, 10 Big Ten championships, numerous U of M school records, and at Grand Blanc High School she was a three-time national champion.
Shannon Solares-Rowbury is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also represented the United States at the World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning the bronze medal in the 1500 meters in 2009. In 2015, Rowbury helped set the world record with the U.S. team for the distance medley relay event, and set a then-American record for 1500 meters on July 17, 2015, breaking Mary Slaney's 32 year-old mark with a time of 3:56.29.
Jennifer Simpson is an American middle- and long-distance runner, formerly a steeplechaser. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the event.
Janice "Jan" Melbourne Merrill is a retired American runner. She was the dominant long distance runner of the middle 1970s, a notable front runner, her uniform with the large "M" on her chest would usually break away to an insurmountable lead in domestic meets. She was equally untouchable in self-promotion or dealing with the media, often deferring to her coach, Norm Higgins. At various points in time she held the American record in the 1500 meters during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. She lost other record opportunities because the only times she could get a decent race in the United States was against men.
Alysia Montaño is an American middle distance runner. She is a six-time USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 800 metres champion. She gained significant publicity for the 2014 race that she competed while 8 months pregnant.
Francena Lynette McCorory is a retired American track and field athlete, known primarily for running the 400 meters. She was the 2011 World bronze medalist in the 400 meters and was a member of the gold medal-winning 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic 4 x 400 m relay teams. She was the IAAF 400 meter Indoor World Champion in 2014. McCorory retired in 2021.
Morgan Uceny is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in middle distance running. Uceny won three national championships and was the 2011 IAAF Diamond League Champion at 1500 meters. She ended 2011 as the first American since 1985 to be ranked number one in the world in the 1500 m by Track & Field News.
Shalaya Kipp is an American middle-distance runner who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Mary Cecilia Cain is an American professional middle distance runner from Bronxville, New York. Cain was the 2014 World Junior Champion in the 3000 meter event. She is the youngest American athlete ever to represent the United States at a track and field World Championships meet after competing in the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow aged 17 years and 3 months.
Treniere Moser is an American track and field athlete specializing in middle-distance races. She is a five-time outdoor champion at 1500 metres, along with a 2006 indoor championship. As national champion, she represented the US at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, neither time making the final. At the 2006 IAAF World Cup, she finished eighth and the 2006 World Indoor Championships she finished seventh.
Chanelle Price is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800-meter run. She has a personal record of 1:58.73 for the distance. She was the gold medalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2014.
Alexa Efraimson is an American former professional middle distance runner from Camas, Washington who competed for Nike. Efraimson is training and in graduate school to become a Registered Dietitian in 2022-24. During the 2014 indoor and outdoor season, as a junior, she set a pair of U.S. high-school records, breaking Mary Cain's 2013 mark in the indoor 3,000 meters (9:02.10) with a time of 9:00.16 and running 4:33.29 in the 1,600 meters to shave 0.53 seconds from Christine Babcock's 4:33.82, set in 2008. Efraimson captured the bronze medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2013 World (U18) Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Deborah Dawn "Debbie" Scott-Bowker is a Canadian former middle- and long-distance runner. A three-time Olympian for Canada, she reached the 1500 m final in 1984, and both the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1988. She was also a three-time World Championship finalist, reaching the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1987, and the 1500 m final in 1991.
Cory Ann McGee is an American professional middle distance runner and Olympian from Pass Christian, Mississippi. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games she finished 12th in the 1500-meters. She was the 2011 Pan American U20 Champion and 2011 USA Juniors Outdoor Champion in the 1500-meters. In May 2022 she ran a personal best of 4:00.34 in the 1500-meters to move to 16th place on the US fastest all-time list.
Nicole Tully is an American middle- and long-distance runner. She holds best of 4:05.89 minutes for the 1500 meters and 15:05.58 minutes for the 5000 meters. She was the American national champion over the latter distance in 2015.
Colleen Quigley is an American middle-distance runner, steeplechase specialist and an Olympian from St. Louis, Missouri. She is the current World Record holder in the 4x1500 meters relay. Competing in the 3000 meters steeplechase, she finished 8th at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and 12th at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. She was the 2019 US National Indoor Champion in the one-mile event running 4:29.47 to capture the title and was the 2015 NCAA Champion in the 3000 meters steeplechase. In 2023, Quigley announced that she would start competing in triathlon events, but that she still plans to race track and field through 2024.
Kate Grace is an American middle-distance runner. A multiple All-American runner for Yale University, she turned professional in 2011. Grace competed for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it to the final of the 800 metres.
Jasmine Moore is an American athlete. She won the bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in both the long jump and the triple jump event. In 2022, she became the first American woman to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in both the long jump and the triple jump.
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