Shannon Rowbury

Good Luck in Beijing!

Family and friends gather to wish Shannon well in Beijing

On Saturday, August 2, 2008, about 150 of Shannon's family, friends and professional associates gathered at the Rowbury's Rockin' R Microdude Ranch for swimming, music and a barbeque in celebration of Shannon's amazing accomplishment of making the Olympic Team.

Shannon's Cousin Jenny, who suffered a traumatic brain injury at 6 months of age, sang two songs for Shannon.  The first song, "I hope you Dance" by LeeAnn Womack was a song that Shannon's high school coach, Andy Chan, dedicated to her.  The second song, "Gold" was a song that Jenny sang during the Special Olympics.  Our friend, Spencer Allen, recorded the songs and uploaded them on YouTube.  Below are the links if you want to hear the songs:

• YouTube:  Cousin Jenny Sings "I Hope You Dance" to Shannon
• YouTube:  Cousin Jenny Sings "Gold" to Shannon

Spencer also conducted an interview with Shannon where she had to field some tough questions from family and friends.  You can check out the interview as well as get a glimpse of the days festivities by clicking on the following link:

• YouTube:  Shannon Rowbury Grilled

Before the end of the party, Shannon got in one last "competition" in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games by participating in a whipped cream / bubble gum blowing contest.  It was a very tough field consisting of about 10 people of all ages.  Sadly, Shannon lost to a 12 year old boy, Gavin Kinahan.  But like the true competitor that she is, as you can see from the picture, Shannon dove in face first and put her heart and soul into it.

As Shannon gears up to take on the world in Beijing, we would like to encourage everyone to express their thoughts, love and/or well wishes on this website page so that Shannon can carry your messages with her in cyberspace during her travels.  If you would like to write something to Shannon, please click on the "comments" link below, scroll down the page to type in your note and click on "post".  The last step to complete your message is to type in the "secret" letter and number sequence that appears in the window, then click "continue".

We love you Shannon and we wish you great speed and an incredible adventure in Beijing!

Gary, Paula and Hannah (the pool dog) Rowbury

Olympic Swag Galore

Lines, Lines and More Lines!

Check out all the athletes waiting to pick up their Olympic swag at the USOC Shopping Center.

Olympic Team Processing

Stuff, Stuff and More Stuff!

Here I am, standing in line at San Jose State, waiting for a shopping cart to get all my USA Olympic gear.

That's right, there is so much stuff I need a shopping cart.

This should me fun!

A Lot Of Love for My Teammates!

Great Stories about Some Great Gals!

• Boston Globe:  Flanagan Peaking at the Right Time
• Philly News:  Donohue Gets Olympic Send-Off
• Salem News:  Flanagan Looks Back before Running Ahead
• Courrier-Post:  Donohue Focused on Run for Gold
• Because I Played Sports:  Donohue Qualifies for Beijing
• USA Today:  Flanagan Poised for Double Duty at Olympic Trials

Working Our Butts Off!

Shalane Shares a Tough Work Out!

• Flotrack:  Work out Wednesday with Shalane Flanagan

A Look at Shannon's Mental and Physical Preparations for Competition

• Blue Devil Weekly:  Coach Cook and Greg Dale on Mental and Physical Fitness

Got Questions?

Feel free to post a question by clicking on the "comments" tab below. 

I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

You will need to check back later by clicking on the comments section on this blog page for my response.

"Bonjour" from The City of Lights!

Paris...Shoes...What's a girl to do?

Now that my racing is done on the European Circuit, I took a little bit of time for the girly essentials...SHOPPING!

Spent way too much, but figured...hey, I deserve it. And they're classic black satin Dior. 

:)

Golden League Meeting - Gaz de France, Paris

An Experience to Remember!

Walking into the stadium in Paris was such an awesome experience.  The crowd was fantastic and the venue was just so impressive. 

Surprisingly, considering this was my first world class, international race, I wasn't very nervous...just happy and honored to be a part of it all!

Needless to say, I was very satisfied with my effort in Paris.  I placed second to last year's World Champion and I set a new personal best time of 4:00.33 for 1500m.  I feel that I ran smart and tough and I kept myself in contention during the entire race.  There was one point in the race when I was feeling great and the rabbits gapped us a little bit.  I wonder how things would have turned out if I had pushed the pace during that lap? I definitely learned from this experience and I leave Paris with a lot of confidence going into Beijing.

Now that my European races are done, it's back to the grindstone in preparation for the Olympics!

Bonne nuit et coffre-fort voyage a Beijing!  -  Good night and safe travels to Beijing!

Lignano, Italy - Not the Best...But a Good Learning Experience!

Not What I Had Hoped For!

After a long trip from the San Francisco to Germany, and a brief (one night) stay at our base camp in Cologne, I boarded another plane for the short flight to Italy. We landed in Venice and were met by the Lignano meet organizers for ground transfer to our hotel.

The meet was pretty low key, and it struck me as funny that I travelled all the way to Europe only to find that I was in a race with mostly Americans. 

I was entered in an 800 meter race with the intent of working on racing tactics, practicing in tight packs and getting the legs to turn over. The race went OK, but it wasn't what I had hoped for. 

I ended up in 4th place with a time of 2:03.71. We went through the first 400 in about 60/61. I almost fell at that point of the race and took about 5-7 steps to regain my balance, but I still managed to close some in the last 100 meters. It wasn't the best tactical race on my part, but I'm sure I learned something from it!

Ciao e migliore fortuna la volta prossima! (Good bye and better luck next time!)

The European Circuit: Post Olympic Trials

No rest for the weary!

Just three days after my return home from Eugene, I find myself boarding a flight for Europe. I'm off to Cologne, Germany, where I will stay at the base camp arranged by my agents, Peter Stubbs Management Company. I'm not into streudels, sausages or saurkraut, but I trust that I can find some delicious food during my travels.

My plans are to race a "rust burner" at a small meet in Lignano, Italy and then head to Paris for a big time Golden League race.

Because of my injury last year, this will be my first experience racing against world class competition. I'm excited for the opportunity and anxious to see how I fair against the best in the world.

Gut Vorbei und glückliche Spielräume!

That means Good Bye and Happy Travels in German (I think)...Coach Cook will be very proud of my attempts at the German language!