Amy
Begley

Olympian 2008

Athlete Bio#

Height

5'4"

Age

Education

East Noble (Ind.) HS ‘96 Arkansas ‘01

Career Highlights

3^rd at 2008 Olympic Trials; 2001 NCAA Outdoor champion; 2000 NCAA Indoor 5,000m champion; 2000 NCAA Outdoor 5,000m runner-up; 16-time All American

Yoder Begley entered the Olympic Trials lacking the Olympic "A" qualifying standard of 31:45:00 - a time she needed to beat in order to ensure a place on the team. Knowing a ticket to Beijing was on the line, Yoder Begley took the lead with seven laps to go, in pursuit of the A standard. Flanagan and Goucher again took over with three laps to go. But it was Yoder Begley's solo race for third that was most inspiring. Running alone and visibly digging for every available bit of energy, she needed to cover the final 800 meters in 2:20 to beat the 31:45 standard. It took minutes after she crossed the finish line for her time to be displayed on the scoreboard, but when it did, it was cause for celebration. 31 minutes, 43.60 seconds. Yoder Begley made it to Beijing with 1.40 seconds to spare...graduated from Arkansas with a BS in Exercise Science/ Biomechanics...married to Andrew Begley...afflicted with Celiac disease, Begley cannot consume the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye.

Competition Results:
2008: 3^rd at Olympic Trials (31:43.60)...2^nd in 5,000m at Oregon Relays (15:46.55)...12^th at Cardinal Invite (32:07.84)...6^th in 3,000m at adidas Track Classic (9:16.48)...2^nd at Border Duel Elite (31:59.46)
2007: 1^st at Manchester Road Race (24:39)...5^th at Stanford (15:54.14)
2006: 8^th at USA Outdoors (15:43.77)...11^th in 3,000m at adidas Track Classic (9:04.29)...13^th at Peachtree 10k (32:56)...best of 15:43.77.
2005: 7^th at USA Outdoors (15:24.88)...14^th in 1,500m at adidas Invite (4:18.06)...2^nd at Cardinal Invite (15:34.01)...4^th at USA 5km Champs (16:04.8)...USA 10km Champs runner-up (32:45)...ranked #9 in the U.S. at 5,000m by T&FN...best of 15:24.88.
2004: 9^th in 5,000m and 10,000m at Olympic Trials (15:52.12, 33:17.78)...1^st in 3,000m at UTEP (9:39.43)...10^th at Boston HP (15:35.95)...best of 15:35.95.
2003: 1^st at Naples Half Marathon (1:13:39)
2002: 9^th at USA XC (28:03)... 2^nd in 5,000m at Cardinal Invite (15:38.60)...2^nd in 1,500m at Mt. SAC (4:19.83)...best of 15:38.50.
2001: NCAA 10,000m champion (33:59.96)...11^th in 5,000m at USA Outdoors (15:54.74)...ranked #8 in the U.S. at 10,000m by T&FN...best of 33:59.96.