Shalonda Solomon
 Solomon during the 2010 USATF Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |
 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
December 19, 1985 Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 1⁄2 in (1.69 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Running | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 metres, 200 metres | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Shalonda Solomon (born December 19, 1985) is an American track and field sprinter. Her greatest international accomplishment currently is a silver medal in the 100 metres at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup while representing the Americas team. She qualified for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics by winning the 200 metres at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Her 22.15 in winning that race is the world leading time for 2011. While running in the World Championships, she ran far slower than at the National Championships, finishing a distant 4th place in the 200 metres behind Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, and American teammates Carmelita Jeter and defending champion Alyson Felix. Later in those championships, she won a gold medal by serving on the American 4x100 metres relay team in the preliminary rounds, being replaced by Felix in the final. She has a distinct head bob while running, something noticeable since high school.
While at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California, she was named the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for the school year 2003-2004.[1] At the CIF California State Meet, as a freshman in 2001 she finished just 0.02 behind Allyson Felix in the 100 metres (and third behind Felix in the 200 metres).[2] In 2002 as a sophomore, she finished second to Felix in the 100 metres and 200 metres, and ran on her team's dominant 4x100 metres relay and 4x400 metres relay victories, leading her team to the team title.,[3] a feat she and her team duplicated in 2003[4] and in 2004, except after the graduation of Felix, Soloman was beaten by Bishop Amat Memorial High School senior Jasmin Baldwin.
While still in high school, she won the USA Junior Outdoor Championship at both 100 metres and 200 metres. This qualified her to run in the 2003 Pan American Junior Championships in Barbados for the United States, where she walked away with three gold medals in the two short sprints as well as the 4x100 metrre relay. Her victory at 200 metres in 22.93 was a championship record performance. In her senior season in high school, Solomon finished runner-up in the 100 metres and 200 metres at the CIF State Meet, losing to a strong double win by Jasmine Baldwin, who ran 11.35 at 100 metres and 22.86 at 200 metres. Solomon did come through victorious in the 4x100 metre relay and the 4x400 metre relay, which is why she was voted the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. During the summer of her final season of high school track, she had another great international performance, winning gold in the 200 metres and 4x100 metre relay at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[5]
She moved to the collegiate level at the University of South Carolina, where she ran on their 2005 NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship 4x400 metres relay team. The following year she won both the NCAA Indoor and outdoor championship in the 200 metres.[6] She also finished second behind Felix at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2006 Solomon was named Women’s Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.[7] Her junior year was limited by a strained left quadriceps muscle.
In 2007 she announced she would forego her senior year of eligibility to turn professional,[8] ultimately signing with Reebok.[9]
In 2010, she repeated a second place at the USA National Championships in the 200 meters.
In 2011, she ran a powerful race to beat Carmelita Jeter and win the USA National Championships in the 200 meters and qualify for the World Championships.
References
- ↑ "All-Time Gatorade National Players of the Year" (PDF). gatorade.com. p. 5. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ↑ "State Finals - 2001". Dyestatcal.com. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "State Finals - 2002". Dyestatcal.com. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "State Finals - 2003". Dyestatcal.com. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "Shalonda Solomon". Usatf.org. 1985-12-19. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "Player Bio: Shalonda Solomon - SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS". Gamecocksonline.cstv.com. 1985-12-19. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "South Carolina’s Richardson, Auburn’s Martin, and Arizona State’s Whiting Top USTFCCCA Division I Men’s All-Academic Track and Field Teams". ustfccca.org. 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
- ↑ "internet home of California track". DyeStatCal. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "Shalonda Solomon". Globalathletics.com. 1985-12-19. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
External links
- Shalonda Solomon profile at IAAF
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