Jennifer Simpson (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Barringer; born August 23, 1986) is a retired American middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Simpson is a former American record holder for the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. She was the 2014 Diamond League 1500 m winner. Simpson won 11 individual American national titles. She is a four-time individual

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

champion.

Running career

High school

As a student at Oviedo High School, Jenny Barringer was a 5-time state champion in track and 3-time state champion in cross country. On 3 February 2018, Oviedo High School renamed their track Jenny Simpson Track in her honor. She also set Florida high school records in the mile, two-mile, 5000 m, and three-mile. Barringer finished 3rd in San Diego's Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2003 behind winner Katelyn Kaltenbach of Colorado and Marie Lawrence of Nevada. In the regional, Barringer came on strong and won for the second straight year in identical times of 17:27, becoming the first Florida girl to ever win the Footlocker South regional twice. She finished 10th in San Diego's Footlocker cross country national championship in 2004.

Collegiate

At Colorado, Barringer won the 2006 NCAA Outdoor championship steeplechase in a time of 9:53.04. The following year, she won the USATF Outdoor steeplechase championship in 9:34.64. She finished 7th in heats at IAAF World Outdoors in the steeplechase in a time of 9:51.04. She finished 7th at the NCAA Outdoors in 2007 in the steeplechase with a time of 9:59.81. She also ran at Drake Relays in the steeplechase in a time of 9:44.31. In April 2007, she finished 4th in 5,000m at Stanford in a time of 15:48.24. At the time of her 2008 Olympic appearance, Barringer was enrolled at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. At the U.S. trials, Barringer qualified for the United States Olympic team by finishing third in the steeplechase. Barringer qualified for the first women's steeplechase final in Olympic history by finishing third in her heat. She set a new American record of 9:22.26 in the final and placed ninth. In 2009, she set NCAA records in the mile, 3000 m, and 5000 m indoors, 1500 m, 3000 m steeplechase and 5000 m outdoors. She also topped her own American record in the steeplechase at the 2009 World Championships with a time of 9:12:50, finishing 5th overall. While primarily a steeplechaser, she ran 3:59.90 in the 1500 m at the 2009 Prefontaine Classic. At the time of the event, this performance made her the third-fastest female 1500 m runner in U.S. track and field history. Barringer came fifth at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

, running a

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

record time of 9:12.50 minutes for the event. It is also the best mark by any athlete from

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

. She was the 2009 US Champion in the steeplechase. While at

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best collegiate female track and field athlete in 2009. Despite the fact that she could have signed a professional contract, Barringer returned to school in the fall of 2009 to compete in cross country. On October 31, 2009, Barringer captured the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

individual title, running a 6-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 27.46 seconds. She was favored to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship on November 23, 2009, but collapsed after leading for the first two miles. She wound up in 163rd place. Barringer commented that she felt light headed all of a sudden. Barringer won the Inaugural Bowerman Award in 2009. The Bowerman Award is given to college track's Athlete of the Year.

Professional

In January 2010, Barringer signed a multi-year endorsement deal with New Balance. Barringer later changed coaches from her

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

coach, Mark Wetmore, in favor of the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

coach Juli Benson. Barringer missed most of the 2010 season due to a stress reaction in her right

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

. She married runner Jason Simpson on October 8, 2010, taking on Simpson as her last name from that date. Simpson began the 2011 season strong, winning the mile and 3000 meters championships at the 2011 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She qualified for the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

by finishing second in the 1500 meters at the US Track and Field Championship. Simpson won a gold medal at the 1500 meters at the World Championships in a time of 4:05:40. She beat rivals Hannah England and Natalia Rodriguez. Simpson's gold medal was considered a surprise. She became the first American woman to win the event since

Mary Decker Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, Married and maiden names, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 metres, 1500 meters and 3000 metr ...

at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. On July 1, 2012, Simpson qualified for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

with a third-place finish in the women's 1500 m at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials. At the

, Simpson qualified for the 1500 meter semifinal in 4:13.89 but did not qualify for the final. She announced a return to coach Mark Wetmore in December 2012.

2013

Simpson claimed the USATF Outdoor 5000 meter title in 15:33.77 in the 95+ degree heat of Des Moines, Iowa on June 23. Simpson won a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on August 15, 2013, in the 1500m with a time of 4:02.99. Simpson won the September 22, 2013 Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:19.3. * 1st at Drake Relays 1500m (4:03.35) * 1st at USATF Oxy HP 800m (2:00.45) * 1st at USA Outdoors 5,000m (15:33.77) * 3rd at Madrid 800m (2:02.15) * 1st at Monaco 1500m (4:00.48) * 2nd at World Outdoor 1500m (4:02.99) * 7th at Zurich 5,000m (14:56.26) * 10th in Brussels 1500m (4:10.70)

2014

Simpson was runner-up at the Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 2 mile after miscounting her laps to finish in 9:26.19 on February 8. Simpson followed that performance with a 2nd-place finish in 27:57 at the US Cross Country Championship on February 15. At the Prefontaine Classic on May 31, she improved her personal best in the 1500 to 3:58.28. Simpson won the 1500 meters at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 4:04.96. On July 4, Simpson became the 2nd fastest American 1500 meter runner by running 3:57.22 at a

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

race in Paris. With two wins late in the season, including a dramatic diving finish at the Weltklasse Zürich, she won the 2014 IAAF Diamond League. On September 13, 2014, Simpson repeated her 2013 win of the Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:19.4. At the end of the year she was selected as the winner of the Jackie Joyner Kersee Award. *May 18: 4:00 2nd at Shanghai Diamond League *May 31: 3:58 4th place at Eugene Diamond League *June 14: 4:02 3rd at New York Diamond League *June 29: 4:04 1st USATF Champs *July 5: 3:57 2nd place at Paris Diamond League *August 21: 4:00 1st Stockholm Diamond League *August 28: 3:59 1st at Zurich Diamond League *Sept 5th: 8:29 4th at Brussels Diamond League *September 13: 4:19.4 at Fifth Avenue Mile

2015

Simpson won the Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 2 mile in 9:18.35 on February 7, setting a new American record, 5 seconds ahead of Regina Jacobs' 2002 American record at the same event, 9:23.38. At the Prefontaine Classic on May 30, she won in a season best in the 1500 opener to 4:00.28. At the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

Simpson won the 1500m in 4:14.86, and will represent the U.S. for the 1500m in the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

in Beijing, China in August. At the Herculis

meet at

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II (, ), or simply Louis II is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco, near the border with Cap-d'Ail commune of France. It serves primarily as a venue for Athletics and football, being the home of AS Monaco ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Simpson ran 3:57.30, just .18 off Mary Slaney's nearly 32-year-old American record before the race. During that same race, a second ahead of her, Shannon Rowbury improved the American record to 3:56.29 and Genzebe Dibaba improved the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

to 3:50.07. At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres in Beijing, China, Simpson finished 11th in the final round after losing her shoe and struggled, finishing in 4:16.28. On September 11, at the

finale in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Simpson placed 4th in the mile in 4:22.18, just behind Shannon Rowbury who finished in 4:22.10. On September 13, Simpson placed 1st in a time of 4:29.0 at

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. By the end of the year, she ran the 3000 meters standard for the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

at the Zürich

2016

Simpson won a bronze medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympic Games in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, to become the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in that event. On September 3, she placed first in a time of 4:18.3 at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City.

2017

Simpson ran a 4:19.98 mile, finishing 5th at the London Anniversary Games on July 9, 2017, behind Hellen Obiri and

Laura Muir Laura Muir (; born 9 May 1993) is a Scottish Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. She is the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having prev ...

, Winny Chebet and Angelika Cichocka, setting a personal record, and second fastest time ever for an American woman. She won her second silver medal in the World Championships 1500m event on August 7, 2017, at the 2017 World Championships, finishing in 4:02.76, less than 0.2 seconds behind Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon. Simpson capped her 2017 campaign with a record-setting win at the

Fifth Avenue Mile. In addition to achieving a record sixth Fifth Avenue title, she tied the longstanding meet record with a time of 4:16.6.

2018–2021

Simpson won the Fifth Avenue Mile again in 2018 making it six straight and seven total Fifth Avenue titles. On September 8, 2019, Simpson bettered her best time in the Fifth Avenue Mile, running 4:16.1 to give her sole possession of the event record. It was her seventh straight win and her eighth title in the event. On June 21, 2021, she finished tenth in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials 1500 meter run with a time of 4:07.76, failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. This was the first time she failed to make a national team since she made the team in 2007.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

1500 metres Overall winner: Diamond blue

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

:: 1500 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses :*

: Monaco Herculis () :*

: Stockholm DN Galan, Zürich Weltklasse :*

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: Eugene Prefontaine Classic, Rome Golden Gala ()

National championships

NCAA championships

Personal bests

References

External links

* *
Diamond League profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jennifer 1986 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Colorado Buffaloes women's track and field athletes People from Webster City, Iowa Sportspeople from Oviedo, Florida World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from Iowa Track and field athletes from Florida World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Colorado Buffaloes women's cross country runners Diamond League winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Oviedo High School alumni United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen