Shelly Steely
Encyclopedia
Anne Rochelle "Shelly" Steely Ramirez (born October 23, 1962) is a former long-distance runner who competed internationally for the United States. She specialized in the 3,000 meters on the track
and later competed in road running
events.
She made her international debut in cross country
and helped the United States the women's team title at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
in 1985. Her focus changed to the 3,000 meters, a distance in which she was a two-time US champion (outdoors in 1991 and indoors in 1992). She reached the final of that event at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Steely's performances deteriorated and she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism
. However, she made an athletic comeback in 1998 and she won two national road titles, as well as appearing at the Goodwill Games
and IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
that year. She made one more appearance at the World Half Marathon event in 2000, but retired to focus on education studies.
, and attended Bishop Conwell High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
. She received an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where she ran for the Florida Gators track and field team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition. Steely was fifth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoors in 1983, but found greater success over shorter distances the following year: she won both the 5000 meters and 3000 meters Southeastern Conference
titles. She was third in the 3,000 meters at the 1984 NCAA Outdoors and made two podium finishes at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
(third over 5,000 meters, second over 3,000 meters). She also reached the semi-finals of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials that year.
In her final year at Florida, she took a sweep of the SEC long-distance titles, winning the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000-meter distance races. During her time as a Gator runner, she won five All-America
n honors and nine All-SEC honors, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2006.
Steely made her international debut for the United States in 1985, and her fifteenth place finish at the 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
helped the American women (including Cathy Branta
and Betty Springs) to the long race team title. She made two more appearances at that competition, taking part in the 1989 and 1990 editions. She also competed on the international cross country
circuit in Europe, including a win at the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños
.
and improved her best times in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in 1990, and was ranked highly at the national level. She began to expand her oeuvre to include road running
and that year she took wins at the Cooper River Bridge Run
and Great Cow Harbor 10K
races, as well as shorter distance wins at the Fifth Season Race and the Jean Bouin Memorial in Spain. The following year saw her make a career breakthrough on the track
. She won the national title in the 3,000 meters with a significant personal best run of 8:49.00 minutes. This gained her a place on the national team for the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
. Steely ran a personal record of 8:48.54 minutes in the qualifying rounds, only finishing behind two eventual medalists (Susan Sirma
and Yelena Romanova
). She did not perform as well in the final, however, and ended the competition in fourteenth place. She ended her season with road wins at the Phoenix 10K and Senior Bowl 10K.
She claimed her second national title at the start of the following year, winning the 3,000 meters at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
with a time of 8:51.29 minutes. A third title followed on the roads that May as she took the 5,000 meters U.S. title in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
. In the outdoor season she ran a career best time of 8:41.28 minutes for the 3,000 meters and her runner-up placing at the Olympic Trials saw her make the US Olympic Team
for the first time. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
, both Steely and PattiSue Plumer
(the trials winner) made the event final and Steely came seventh, two spots behind her compatriot.
the following March. Steely was the 1993 USA Outdoor runner-up in the 3,000 meters but was replaced in the national team for the 1993 World Championships in Athletics
. Her performances waned over the next three years and she did not compete at all in 1996. She was later diagnosed with a hyperthyroid condition.
Steely returned to compete in 1998 and ran frequently, mainly out of necessity as she no longer had a sponsor. She was in the top three at the 1998 USA Outdoors in the 10,000 meters, came fourth in the event at the 1998 Goodwill Games
, and ranked second nationally in the distance that year. She won the US titles in the 25-kilometer and 10-mile events that year, as well as runner-up placing in the national 12-kilometer and half marathon
events. Her performance over the latter distance gained her a spot at the 1998 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
, where she placed 42nd overall.
She ran in the 10,000 meters at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships (coming fifth) and competed at the 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
. However, she moved on from her athletic career to focus on obtaining an Educational specialist
degree.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and later competed in road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
events.
She made her international debut in cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
and helped the United States the women's team title at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
in 1985. Her focus changed to the 3,000 meters, a distance in which she was a two-time US champion (outdoors in 1991 and indoors in 1992). She reached the final of that event at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Steely's performances deteriorated and she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is the term for overactive tissue within the thyroid gland causing an overproduction of thyroid hormones . Hyperthyroidism is thus a cause of thyrotoxicosis, the clinical condition of increased thyroid hormones in the blood. Hyperthyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are not synonymous...
. However, she made an athletic comeback in 1998 and she won two national road titles, as well as appearing at the Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
and IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is an annual half marathon competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was contested from 1992 to 2005, and replaced by the IAAF World Road Running Championships, a 20 kilometres race which had its inaugural...
that year. She made one more appearance at the World Half Marathon event in 2000, but retired to focus on education studies.
Early life and college career
Steely was born in Reading, PennsylvaniaReading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, and attended Bishop Conwell High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
Fairless Hills is a census-designated place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,466 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. She received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where she ran for the Florida Gators track and field team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) competition. Steely was fifth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoors in 1983, but found greater success over shorter distances the following year: she won both the 5000 meters and 3000 meters Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
titles. She was third in the 3,000 meters at the 1984 NCAA Outdoors and made two podium finishes at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
(third over 5,000 meters, second over 3,000 meters). She also reached the semi-finals of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials that year.
In her final year at Florida, she took a sweep of the SEC long-distance titles, winning the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000-meter distance races. During her time as a Gator runner, she won five All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n honors and nine All-SEC honors, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2006.
Steely made her international debut for the United States in 1985, and her fifteenth place finish at the 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 13th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1985 in Lisbon, Portugal. There were a total number of 570 participating athletes from 50 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
helped the American women (including Cathy Branta
Cathy Branta
Cathy Branta is a retired middle distance and long distance runner from the United States. She won the gold medal at the 1985 Summer Universiade in Kobe, Japan in the women's 3,000 metres event. She set the collegiate record in the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:07.-References:* *...
and Betty Springs) to the long race team title. She made two more appearances at that competition, taking part in the 1989 and 1990 editions. She also competed on the international cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
circuit in Europe, including a win at the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños
Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños
The Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños is a cross country running competition that takes place in Venta de Baños, Castile and León, Spain. The competition was first held in 1980 and since then it has been held every year in mid-December...
.
World and Olympic competition
She began training in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and improved her best times in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in 1990, and was ranked highly at the national level. She began to expand her oeuvre to include road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
and that year she took wins at the Cooper River Bridge Run
Cooper River Bridge Run
The Cooper River Bridge Run is an annual one-way road running event held in the cities of Mount Pleasant and Charleston in South Carolina, on the first Saturday in April, unless it is the day before Easter Sunday, when the event is held on the last Saturday in March...
and Great Cow Harbor 10K
Great Cow Harbor 10K
The Great Cow Harbor 10-Kilometer Run is a road running event held annually in the Long Island village of Northport, New York, on the third Saturday each September. The race is co-organized by its organizing committee , the Northport Running Club, and Northport American Legion Post 694. The...
races, as well as shorter distance wins at the Fifth Season Race and the Jean Bouin Memorial in Spain. The following year saw her make a career breakthrough on the track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. She won the national title in the 3,000 meters with a significant personal best run of 8:49.00 minutes. This gained her a place on the national team for the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
. Steely ran a personal record of 8:48.54 minutes in the qualifying rounds, only finishing behind two eventual medalists (Susan Sirma
Susan Sirma
Susan Sirma is a retired Kenyan middle distance runner best known for winning a bronze medal over 3000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, becoming the first black African woman to win a track and field medal at World Championship or Olympic level.Sirma also won two gold medals over this...
and Yelena Romanova
Yelena Romanova
Yelena Nikolaevna Romanova was a Russian middle distance runner. She won an Olympic gold medal in 1992.-Achievements:-Death:Romanova was found dead at age 43 in her flat in Volgorad in January 2007. The cause of death has not yet been given.-References:...
). She did not perform as well in the final, however, and ended the competition in fourteenth place. She ended her season with road wins at the Phoenix 10K and Senior Bowl 10K.
She claimed her second national title at the start of the following year, winning the 3,000 meters at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
with a time of 8:51.29 minutes. A third title followed on the roads that May as she took the 5,000 meters U.S. title in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. In the outdoor season she ran a career best time of 8:41.28 minutes for the 3,000 meters and her runner-up placing at the Olympic Trials saw her make the US Olympic Team
United States at the Olympics
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games, except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which it boycotted.The United States Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee for the United States....
for the first time. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders...
, both Steely and PattiSue Plumer
PattiSue Plumer
Patricia Susan "PattiSue" Plumer is a retired American long-distance runner who ran twice in the Summer Olympics. She ran first in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea where she finished 13th in the now defunct 3000 metres...
(the trials winner) made the event final and Steely came seventh, two spots behind her compatriot.
Switch to roads and retirement
She won the Carlsbad 5000Carlsbad 5000
The Carlsbad 5000 is an annual road running event over which is typically held in April in Carlsbad, California, United States.The event was first held in 1986 and is organized by the Competitor Group...
the following March. Steely was the 1993 USA Outdoor runner-up in the 3,000 meters but was replaced in the national team for the 1993 World Championships in Athletics
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
. Her performances waned over the next three years and she did not compete at all in 1996. She was later diagnosed with a hyperthyroid condition.
Steely returned to compete in 1998 and ran frequently, mainly out of necessity as she no longer had a sponsor. She was in the top three at the 1998 USA Outdoors in the 10,000 meters, came fourth in the event at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Athletics at the 1998 Goodwill Games
At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes...
, and ranked second nationally in the distance that year. She won the US titles in the 25-kilometer and 10-mile events that year, as well as runner-up placing in the national 12-kilometer and half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
events. Her performance over the latter distance gained her a spot at the 1998 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1998 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 7th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 27, 1998 in the city of Uster, Switzerland. A total of 236 athletes, 139 men and 97 women, from 54 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
, where she placed 42nd overall.
She ran in the 10,000 meters at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships (coming fifth) and competed at the 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 9th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on November 12, 2000 in the city of Veracruz, Mexico. A total of 182 athletes, 121 men and 61 women, from 52 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
. However, she moved on from her athletic career to focus on obtaining an Educational specialist
Educational Specialist
The Education Specialist, also referred to as Educational Specialist, Specialist in Education, or Ed.S., is an advanced academic degree in the U.S...
degree.
Personal bests
- 1500 m – 4:05.07 mins (1992)
- 3000 m – 8:41.28 mins (1992)
- 5000 m – 15:08.67 mins (1992)
- 10,000 m – 32:41.14 mins (1990)
- Half marathon – 1:13:33 hrs (1998)
International competition record
| 1985 | World Cross Country Championships 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 13th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1985 in Lisbon, Portugal. There were a total number of 570 participating athletes from 50 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :... |
Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban... , Portugal |
15th | Long race |
| 1st | Team race | |||
| 1989 | World Cross Country Championships 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 17th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 19, 1989 in Stavanger, Norway.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**... |
Stavanger Stavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway... , Norway |
86th | Long race |
| 1990 | World Cross Country Championships 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 18th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1990 in Aix-les-Bains, France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**... |
Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:... , France |
44th | Long race |
| 1991 | World Championships 1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the... |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan |
14th | 3000 m |
| 1992 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders... |
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain |
7th | 3000 m |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games Athletics at the 1998 Goodwill Games At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes... |
Uniondale Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet as well as a suburb of New York City in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 24,759 at the 2010 United States Census.-Geography:... , United States |
4th | 10,000 m |
| World Half Marathon Championships 1998 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 7th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 27, 1998 in the city of Uster, Switzerland. A total of 236 athletes, 139 men and 97 women, from 54 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:... |
Uster Uster Uster is a city and capital of the district Uster in the Swiss Canton of Zürich.It is the third largest city in the Canton of Zürich, with over 30,000 inhabitants, and is one of the twenty largest cities in Switzerland... , Switzerland |
42nd | Half marathon | |
| 2000 | World Half Marathon Championships 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 9th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on November 12, 2000 in the city of Veracruz, Mexico. A total of 182 athletes, 121 men and 61 women, from 52 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:... |
Veracruz Veracruz, Veracruz Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most... , Mexico |
35th | Mexico |
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians