Jenny Simpson made history Tuesday night becoming the first American woman to win a medal in the 1,500m run. Simpson (Barringer), a 2005 graduate of Oviedo High School, and multiple state champion in the Sunshine State, stood her ground in a slow and tactical race early on.
With 400 meters to go, Simpson made her move and kicked her way to a third place finish and time of 4:10.53 behind Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, the 2015 world champion and world record holder at 1,500m (4:10.27), and champion Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon of Kenya (4:08.92). Simpson hit the following splits in route to bronze.
By The Numbers:
- (76.9, 70.6 [2:27.5], 58.4 [3:25.9], 44.6)
Coming into the race, the three time Olympian received instructions from her coaches on the race strategy they wanted to follow. She said it was their wisdom and her fitness that really excelled tonight.
"Their mantra for me was, 'position the first two laps, and the second two laps become a predator.' I think that they know what brings out the best in me and I've had races where I have gone to the front and been a protagonist in the race and really made something happen. Given my training and elements of the year for me, they knew that I would be in the best position if I was in a position to see the medals and run them down. They said, whenever somebody jumps to the front, go with them, look at where the medals are, and go get 'em. My last 300 meters is the best demonstration of their wisdom and me executing what they told me to do."
And the final 100 meters, she calls that the thrill of the sport, and a time she thrives.
"The last 100 meters, when I was running my guts out, that's my favorite part of the race. I love this sport. I love how competitive it is. I love how hard the 1,500 meters is. I think I thrive on that, even though it's really, really hard. That last 100 meters is always a thrill for me. I just love this sport. I love this sport."
Jay Getty was Jenny's coach at Oviedo High School. See what he had to say about her race and bronze medal!
"She has always been a very smart competitor when comes to tactics and she did a fantastic job with this set of circumstances. The final 200 meters was all bravery and a testament to her desire and competitiveness. Super excited for her accomplishment and looking forward to her next races along the way. Go Jenny!"
More Jenny Simpson Post-Race Quotes
"Last year in Beijing when my shoe fell off I ran the final 800 meters in 2:05, so I was telling myself all year if I can run the 800 in 2:05 with one shoe on who knows what I can do with two shoes on. So that's been a fun way to make that misfortune something that is funny. And when I was doing my victory lap I saw my parents and I thought 'exactly one year ago I was on this side of the track picking up my shoe, and this year I am here with an American flag. That's always gonna be a very special memory for me."
"I posted on social media that I'm not here to race peoples' past performances, and that was my way of saying, whatever people have done in the past, whatever my PR is relative to everyone coming into this race tonight, they're just 1 of 11 to me and I want to try to be the first one across the finish line."
"This is what I've prayed for. This is what I've worked for - just to have a shot. And so standing on the starting line, I feel like the only thing ahead of me is opportunity. If I run my guts out and I'm 10th or I'm fifth ... you can still have pride and dignity in what you do on the track, no matter what happens. I just want to get to that point, and I got to that point today and was able to execute a beautiful race. ... I'm so thrilled with how I ran today."
