Molly Beckwith-Ludlow (born Molly Elizabeth Beckwith on August 4, 1987) is an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

Biography

Molly Beckwith was born on August 4, 1987, in

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by ...

. She attended

Thomas Worthington High School Thomas Worthington High School (TWHS) is a public school in Worthington, Ohio. The school was named Worthington High School until 1991, when sister school, Worthington Kilbourne High School, opened. With approximately 1700 students, TWHS is the ...

, setting school records in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

and

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

; in her

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

and

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

years she concentrated on

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, dropping track and field. She returned to the track in her

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year, but soccer remained her main sport, and after graduating from high school she went to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

on a soccer

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. She played soccer through her freshman year at Indiana, but knee problems, which she had already suffered from in high school, forced her to drop soccer and give up her scholarship; track was not a problem for her knees, so she joined the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

' track and field team in her sophomore year, now running the

and

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

, and earned a new scholarship through that sport. The 800 meters soon became her main event, and she developed steadily. At the 2010 NCAA championships she placed second to Phoebe Wright in a personal best 2:02.14. Later that summer, she broke two minutes for the first time, running 1:59.83 in

Lignano Lignano Sabbiadoro (; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It is one of the main summer resorts in northern Italy and on the Adriatic Se ...

; sponsored by the shoe company

Saucony Saucony ( ) is an American brand of athletic footwear and apparel. Founded in 1898, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. Products commercialised by Saucony include footwear and clothing ranges, such as athletic shoes, jackets, hoodies, ...

, she turned professional. She continued to train under her coach at Indiana, Ron Helmer. In 2011, her first full year as a professional, she improved her personal best to 1:59.12 (again in Lignano) and placed seventh at the United States championships. In 2012, she placed second behind

Fantu Magiso Fantu Magiso Manedo (born June 9, 1992) is an Ethiopian runner who specializes in the 400 metres and 800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track run ...

at the

Adidas Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, New York. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2015. ...

, running 1:59.18. She narrowly missed qualifying 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 ...

; at the

Olympic Trials Olympic trials are competitions held in certain sports to select teams' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. History Before 1908, members of United States Olympic teams were selected without trials. The 1908 and 1912 teams were s ...

she was in the top three until the end, but tied up and fell to fourth place with meters to go. She skipped the 2013 season to recover from her knee problems; she married Reed Ludlow, a former Division II collegiate basketball player, that fall. She returned to the track in 2014, placing third at the United States championships; she finished in the top six in four Diamond League meetings, breaking two minutes in both

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and

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, ...

. ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' ranked her #10 in the world that year, her first top 10 world ranking. In 2015 Ludlow won gold with the American team in the 4 × 800 m relay at the

World Relays The World Athletics Relays, known as the ''IAAF World Relays'' until 2019, is an international biennial track and field sporting event held by World Athletics where teams from around the world compete in relay races, some of which are not part o ...

; the team's winning time, 8:00.62, was a new American record. She placed fourth at the United States championships in 2:00.09, missing qualifying for the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

by 0.04 seconds. The following week she improved her personal best to 1:58.68 at the

Paris Diamond League Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamo ...

meeting, where she also placed fourth. After Ajee' Wilson withdrew from the World Championships due to an injury, Ludlow was named as her replacement. In July 2016, Ludlow competed in the Olympic trials, running 1:59.59 and again placing 4th by 0.04 seconds. One week later, she set a personal best of 1:57.68 in Monaco, becoming the seventh fastest US woman at that distance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludlow, Molly 1987 births Living people American female middle-distance runners Indiana Hoosiers women's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Worthington, Ohio Track and field athletes from Ohio