Participating in just her second-ever marathon, the Marblehead native qualified for this summer's Olympic Games in London by winning the U.S. Marathon Trials in Houston Saturday morning.
With a blistering time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 38 seconds, Flanagan set an Olympic Trials record in a field of 152 runners — crushing the previous record by 2:47. She was one of five women who ran sub-2:30 races, also a Trials record.
A member of the Oregon Track Club Elite running club, the 30-year-old Flanagan will represent the United States in the marathon at the London Olympic Summer Games (July 27 to Aug. 12) along with Desiree Davila and Kara Goucher, who finished second and third Saturday, respectively.
The Women's Olympic Marathon is scheduled to be run on Sunday, Aug. 5, at 11 a.m. BST (British Summer Time, or 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) in London. Both Flanagan and Davila took turns holding the lead between miles 21 and 24 before the former Marblehead High and University of North Carolina superstar — who now calls Portland, Ore. home — took the lead for good.
In doing so, Flanagan bettered her previous marathon time by better than three minutes. "It was a huge day, I think one that all of us will remember," Flanagan told USA Track and Field (USATF.org) after the race. "The last mile was a cross between savoring the moment and just being really grateful that I was almost done.
"I knew Desi was charging hard and I told myself I had to have one last gear if she came up on me. I tried to view it as a track race for the last mile. I didn't really enjoy that last mile; it felt really long. I'm just grateful to be on the same team with these women."
Davila cramped up down the homestretch but still finished just 18 seconds behind Flanagan in 2:25.55, while Goucher crossed the line in 2:26.06. "I didn't have enough confidence in being able to catch Shalane and I didn't want to lose the spot I had," Davila told USATF.org.
A bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China who also went to the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece, Flanagan placed second in her only other 26.2-mile distance race: the 2010 ING New York City Marathon.
As one of the most decorated U.S. female runners of all time, Flanagan helped Team USA to a bronze medal finish at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, finishing third individually in 25:10. She is also the current American record holder in the 10,000 (outdoors), as well as 5,000 and 3,000 meters (indoors).