Immediately after the Olympics, Shannon left Beijing and headed to Europe where she is scheduled to finish up her season by racing in the following IAAF meets:
9.2.08 IAAF Super Grant Prix | Athletissima 2008 | Lausanne, Switzerland
9.7.08 IAAF Grand Prix | Rieti 2008 | Rieti, Italy
9.13.08 - 9.14.08 IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany
Shannon's goal during the races in Lausanne and Rieti, is to earn enough points to qualify for the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart on September 13 & 14. She earns points based on how well she places in the following IAAF and GST races (each series offers a different point scale):
- Adidas Track Classic (Carson, CA - May - 6 points)
- Golden League Series (Paris - July - 16 points)
- Super Grand Prix Series (Lausanne - September - 16 points)
- Grand Prix Series (Rieti - September - 7 points)
There are additional meets contested throughout the summer and early fall for each of these series, however, Shannon's racing schedule is limited to those events noted above.
Points are accumulated for each athlete based on their top 5 efforts at any of the races in the above series. Once the points are tallied, the top 11 athletes in each event (1500 meters for Shannon) are invited to compete at the World Finals.
Update:
As of today, September 11, 2008, Shannon is in 4th place in the standings and she has solidified her spot at the World Athletics Finals in Stuttgart.
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