Shelby Houlihan (born February 8, 1993) is an American

middle distance runner Middle Distance Runner was an American indie rock band from Washington, D.C. Middle Distance Runner was founded in 1998, but the band didn't play a live show until 2005, shortly before the release of their debut album. The group was an early succ ...

, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500m relay. Houlihan competed in the 5000m final at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio, finishing 11th. She is a 12-time US National Champion winning seven indoor and five outdoor titles in middle-distance events. While at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

she won the 2014 NCAA 1500m championship. Houlihan served a four year ban from 2021 to 2025 for an anti-doping rule violation after testing positive for

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an endogenous androgen. It is also an anabolic steroid (AAS) which is medically used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate ...

Personal life

Shelby Houlihan was born in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

. Her mother and uncle were both competitive runners, as well as her half-sister.

High school

Houlihan attended East High School in Sioux City. She held high school personal records of 4:43.64 in the one mile run, 2:07.35 in the 800 meter run, and 4:26.39 in the 1500 meter run. She was the 2011 Iowa

Gatorade Player of the Year awards The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls Cross country running, cross country, boys A ...

Girls Track and Field Runner of the Year and the 2010 Iowa

Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. She claimed eight Drake Relays crowns, while also earning the title of Drake Relays Outstanding Female High School Performer for being the first female athlete from a high school to win three events in one year. Houlihan graduated from East in 2011.

NCAA

Houlihan attended

(ASU) for college. She was the 2014

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion in the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

at ASU as a junior. She was the first student at Arizona State University to win a national individual title in the outdoor 1,500. Houlihan was a 12-time

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 ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n, the second most in Arizona State history, and an

Track champion. She holds

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

school records in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, one mile, and

3000 meters 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 shou ...

International and professional

Houlihan began competing for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and the Bowerman Track Club under coach Jerry Schumacher in 2015. She was among seven women who were trained by Schumacher who made it to the Olympics. Houlihan said of her teammates, "After watching all of my teammates make the team, I knew that I could do the same. The prelim felt very easy and gave me a lot of confidence going into the final. I thought the final would most likely be much faster, but I knew I was fit and capable of handling a fast pace." She also stated, "It's just amazing to have teammates be able to push me every day. It's something I've never had before. Even that has put me above and beyond what I've done before. Obviously, I made the right decision for me."

2014: NACAC

Houlihan qualified for the 2014 North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Championship in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada where Houlihan won gold in the 800 meters in 2:03.00 ahead of Rachel Francois and Jenna Westaway.

2016: Olympics

Houlihan qualified for the

in the women's

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

after finishing second in the US trials to Molly Huddle. When she finished the race, Houlihan cried. Houlihan said of the moment, "I've been working for that moment my entire life and for it all to come together and happen was one of the most amazing experiences of my life". Houlihan placed fourth in her heat in the 5000 m preliminary at the Olympics, qualifying her for the final. Houlihan placed 11th in the 5000m final with a time of 15:08.89, finishing as the highest-placing American. After the race, she said, "I didn't place as high as I wanted to, and I've got to take that as a learning step and just try to move forward and make me stronger. I wouldn't have guessed I'd be doing the 5K this year. Ideally, I'd like to stick with it. Once I get the (mileage) volume up and get more aerobically strong, I'm going to be even more of a threat. I'm excited to see where that could take me." Houlihan's hometown minor league hockey team, the

Sioux City Musketeers The Sioux City Musketeers are a junior ice hockey team based in Sioux City, Iowa. The Musketeers play their home games at Tyson Events Center, and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team was fou ...

, honored her after the Olympics with an

ovation The ovation ( from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a lesser form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, pira ...

and

ceremonial first puck The ceremonial first puck is a longstanding ritual of ice hockey in which a guest of honor drops a Puck (sports), puck to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Like baseball's ceremonial first pitch, this first puck does ...

. Houlihan placed 6th in 4:23.0 at the 2016

Fifth Avenue Mile The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual road race on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States. The race begins at 80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to 60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by ...

2017

Houlihan qualified for the London 2017 World Championships in the women's 5000 meters after winning the 5000 meters at the

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium (Sacramento), Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field ...

. Houlihan ran 15:00.37 to place 3rd in the preliminaries and ran 15:06.40 to place 13th in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

2018

At the 2018 World Indoor Championships, making up more than 10 meters on the final lap, Houlihan passed

Fantu Worku Fantu Worku Taye (born 29 March 1999) is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. She won the silver medal at the 2016 World U20 Championships. She represented her country at the 2017 World Championships narrowly mi ...

to place 5th (8:50.38) in the 3000 meters final and 4th in 4:11.93 at the 1500 meters final for the

2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships was held from 1 to 4 March 2018 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. This was the city's second hosting of the event as it previously did so in 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2003. Bidding process Birmin ...

after winning the 3000 meters (9:00.08) and the 1500 meters (4:13.07) titles at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. On July 21, 2018, Houlihan ran the 5000 m in 14:34.45 in

Heusden, Belgium Heusden was a municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. In 1977 it merged with the municipality of Destelbergen, of which it is now part. It was mentioned for the first time in the 11th century, by abbot Othejbold. ...

. Assisted by pacer

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, coach, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area ...

, Houlihan broke Shannon Rowbury's 2016 American record of 14:38.92. Houlihan placed second in the 1500 m at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.

2019

At the 2019 World Outdoor Championships, Houlihan set a personal best and new American record of 3:54.99 in the final of the 1500m, finishing in 4th place.

2020

On July 10, at a Bowerman Track Club time trial, Houlihan broke her own American record in the 5000m in a time of 14:23.92, just ahead of teammate Karissa Schweizer in 14:26.34. On July 31, Houlihan, along with Colleen Quigley, Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer established a World Record in the women's 4x1500 meters relay with a time of 16:27.02, eclipsing the previous World Record of 16:33.58 set by a quartet of Kenyan runners on May 25, 2014. The record was ratified in December 2020.

2021: Anti-doping rule violation and ban

On June 11, 2021, Houlihan received a four-year ban, retroactive to January 14 of the same year, from the sport due to testing positive for

. A

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

tribunal rejected her explanation for the nandolone source being from a contaminated pork burrito as being "close to zero".

2025: Return to racing after suspension

Houlihan returned to racing in February 2025, winning the indoor 3000 meters in 8:31.56 at the Razorback Invitational in Arkansas. In March 2025, she won a silver medal in the 3000 meters at the World Indoor Championships in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Beer Mile World Classic

During her doping suspension, Houlihan was allowed to participate in the Beer Mile World Classic's "Legends & Elites Race." She won the women's division and set a new world record of 5:43.81, becoming the first woman to break six-minutes. However, due to her ban from USATF events, organizers did not allow Houlihan to compete in the women's championship beer mile.

International championship results

National championship results

References

External links

* * *
Did a Burrito Cost an American Runner Her Olympic Dream?
''The New York Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Houlihan, Shelby 1993 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners Arizona State Sun Devils women's track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Track and field athletes from Iowa Sportspeople from Sioux City, Iowa Track and field athletes from Portland, Oregon USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics 21st-century American sportswomen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists