| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | “Coach Mom” |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | May 29, 1967 Wilmington, Delaware |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Middle distance running (1500, 3000, 5000 m), Cross country running |
| College team | Villanova University |
| Now coaching | Sun Valley High School: Track and Field |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 1500 m: 4:07.40 (1988) 3000 m: 8:37.25 (1988) |
Vicki Huber (born May 29, 1967) is a retired American middle distance and cross country runner.
Vicki Huber was born on May 29, 1967, in Wilmington, Delaware. [1] Huber attended Concord High School where she began running as conditioning for field hockey. [1] Concord's coach, Joe McNichol, recalled seeing Huber as "el Caballo", a reference to Alberto Juantorena, a Cuban Olympic champion. [2] McNichol said that she "ran exactly like" Juantorena and that she was "a real thoroughbred." [2] Huber won five state titles as a prep athlete, setting state records in the 800 and 1600 meters. [3]
After graduating from high school, Huber attended Villanova University, where she continued her running career. [1] Huber struggled at first due to the intensity of the training program. [1] At the time, Villanova coach Marty Stern thought that Huber "was a wimp" and hoped "she'd leave and go home." [4] Although she won the 1986 Big East Conference championship in the 3000 meters, she did not qualify for the NCAA track and field championships. [5] [6] In the fall of 1986, Huber finished 29th at the NCAA cross country championships. [7] Huber had a breakthrough during the 1987 indoor and outdoor track seasons, winning her first NCAA championships. [1] She won the NCAA indoor championship in the 3000 meters. [6] [7] Huber entered the NCAA outdoor championships as the favorite to win the 3000 meters, and she did just that, winning in a meet record time of 8:54.41. [8] That fall, she finished 9th at the NCAA cross country championships. [7]
Huber's success continued in 1988. She won NCAA indoor championships in the 1500 and 3000 meters. [7] [9] At the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, Huber successfully defended her title in the 3000 meters, finishing in a collegiate-record time of 8:47.35. [10] She then competed in the 1500 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning in a time of 4:07.40. [7] [11] Following these victories, Huber attempted to qualify for the Summer Olympics in the 3000 meters. At the Olympic Trials, she faced a field which included American record-holder Mary Slaney. [12] Huber ran with the pack at the beginning of the race before making a move with 1200 meters left. [12] She caught Slaney with 800 meters to go, but Slaney's finishing speed was too much for Huber to overcome. [13] Despite this, Huber finished 2nd with a time of 8:46.48, earning her a spot on the US team in Seoul. [1] [12] At the Olympics, Huber finished 6th in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:37.25. [1] [7] She ran a competitive race, taking the lead with 800 meters left, but she ended up eight seconds out of medal position. [14]
In 1989, Huber again won indoor and outdoor NCAA championships in the 3000 meters. [1] [7] Rather than go to Europe and run professionally during the summer, which would have ended her collegiate eligibility, Huber decided to return to Villanova for one final cross country season. [4] She explained that she "owed it to Villanova" and that the time would be better spent resting and training. [4] In the last race of her collegiate career, Huber won the NCAA cross country championship and led Villanova to a team title. [15] She finished her career with eight NCAA championships. [1]
While at Villanova, she won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate track and field athlete in both 1988 and 1989. [16] [17]
During the next few seasons, Huber dealt with a number of injuries and illnesses, including back and pelvis injuries in 1990, a stress fracture in 1991, and an Achilles tendon injury in 1994. [18] She had some success, however, finishing fourth at the 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and setting an American road record for the 5K. [19]
After giving birth to a daughter in May 1995, Huber began training again, with the goal of qualifying for the 1996 Olympics. [19] She said, "[after giving birth], I got this fire back in me." [19] She had several impressive results in the months leading up to the Trials, including a time in the 1500 meters that was less than a second off her best. [19] [20] Going into the Trials, she was ranked second in the 1500 meters and fifth in the 5000 meters. [20] At the 1996 Olympic Trials, Huber did not finish her heat in the 5000 meters. [7] She was in third place, only needing to finish in the top five to qualify for the finals, when she dropped out of the race. [18] After the race, she said she felt tired, dehydrated, and sick. [18] Her coach, Dick Brown, described Huber as "absolutely devastated" by her performance. [19] Despite this, he asked her if she wanted to run in the 1500 meters, and with the encouragement of a friend, Huber decided to attempt to qualify in that race. [19] Brown told her, "Stay in fourth or fifth place, and if someone moves, try to cover the move." [19] Huber was in fourth place late in the race when she began catching up to Amy Wickus, passing Wickus with only thirty meters left in the race. [21] Huber finished in third place with a time of 4:11.23, earning her a spot on the US team for the Olympics in Atlanta. [22] In the month leading up to the Olympics, Huber's training was limited due to a sore Achilles tendon. [19] At the Olympics, Huber failed to qualify for the semifinals in the 1500 meters. [1] [7]
She was inducted into the Delaware Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 2002. [3] [23]
Mary Teresa Slaney is an American retired middle-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships and was the world-record holder in the mile, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. In total, she set 17 official and unofficial world records, and she was the first woman to break 4:20 for the mile. She also set 36 U.S. national records at distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, and has held the U.S. record in the 2000 meters and 3000 meters since the early 1980s, while her 1500 meters record stood for 32 years and her mile record stood for 38 years. In 2003, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Jordan Melissa Hasay is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine. She attended the University of Oregon, where she studied business administration and competed on the cross country and track and field teams earning 18 All-American honors, 2011 Mile and 3,000 meters NCAA titles. Her father was a high school basketball star in Pennsylvania, and her mother was a national level swimmer in her native England. Jordan Hasay is no longer coached by Alberto Salazar due to his suspension.
Angela Chalmers is a Canadian retired track and field athlete who competed in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres. She is the 1992 Olympic bronze medallist in the 3000 metres, and a three-time Commonwealth gold medallist, winning the 1500m and 3000m in 1990, and the 3000m in 1994.
Carrie Anne Tollefson is an American former middle-distance runner who was on the US 2004 Summer Olympic team.
Patricia Susan "PattiSue" Plumer is an American former middle-distance and long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, finishing 13th in the 3000-m final in 1988 in Seoul, before going on to finish 10th in the 1500-m final and fifth in the 3000-m final in 1992 in Barcelona. She won the 3000 meters title at the 1990 Goodwill Games. Her 5000-m best of 15:00.00 in 1989 is a former American record.
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.
Sheila Reid is a Canadian track and field Olympian who competes in cross country, middle and long-distance running events. She competed collegiately at Villanova University. Reid won the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship, and in June 2011 became the first woman to win the 5000 m and the 1500 m at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female cross country runner in 2011, repeated as the best female cross country runner in 2012, and also won the Honda Sports Award for Track and field in 2012.
Kathy Fleming is a retired American middle-distance runner. In 1994 she was the USA Track and Field National Champion in the indoor 3000 meters.
Emma Jane Coburn is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000-meters steeplechase. She holds the distinction of being a world champion, world silver medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, three-time Olympian and 10-time US National Champion in the steeplechase.
Shalaya Kipp is an American middle-distance runner who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Abbey Cooper is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Cooper is the most decorated Ivy League athlete in track and field and cross country running. She is the first Dartmouth female distance runner to win an NCAA title. She won a total of seven NCAA titles in her career. In 2014, she became a professional runner for New Balance.
Emily Infeld is an American long-distance runner. She regularly competes in the 5000 m and 10,000 m distances during her professional career; in her college career she regularly competed in the 4 × 800 meter relay and 1500 m on up to 5000 m.
Joan Nesbit Mabe is an American former long-distance runner who competed mainly in distances from 3000 meters to 10,000 meters. Her highest honour was a bronze medal in the 3000 m at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She represented her country at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and appeared four times at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
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.
Terrence Paul Brahm is an American former long-distance runner. He was the bronze medalist in the 3000 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1987 and represented the United States in the 5000 meters at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He was the 1986 NCAA champion in that event for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.
Elinor Purrier St. Pierre is an American track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. She won a gold medal in the 3000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Purrier also represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Elise Cranny is an American middle and long-distance runner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is a four-time national champion and holds the American record in the indoor 5000 metres.
{{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame | ||
|---|---|---|
| Class of 2022 |
|  |
| Class of 2023 | ||
| Class of 2024 | ||
