Shelby Houlihan Nike Bowerman Track Club

In Her Words

(listen to Shelby’s full audio below)

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“When I look at this photo, I see pure joy and excitement.

Even look at it now, it’s making me smile. And I think leading up to this race I didn’t have the confidence in myself that I would make an Olympic team, um, but two months before I decided to write on my bathroom mirror, “I will be an Olympian” in all capital letters. And I looked at that multiple times every single day for two months and by the time I stepped on that line in Eugene, I knew someway I was going to make that happen.

I didn’t care how bad I had to hurt for it, or what I had to do or how fast I had to run this was going to happen.

I was very determined and I was just very confident that I was able to do that.

And when I crossed the line, it was not only years of hard work and dedication and persistence but even over the last few months of just finding that courage and confidence in myself to cross that line in 2nd place and make that Olympic team and make a childhood dream of mine come true, I think it’s all over my face in this picture. I’m just vert ecstatic and theres just pure joy in my face.”