Shirley Reilly facts for kids
Reilly beating Wakako Tsuchida to the 2012 Boston Marathon title
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Shirley Reilly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 29, 1985 Anchorage, Alaska |
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| Height | 152 cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 47 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Shirley Reilly, born on May 29, 1985, is an American wheelchair racer. She competes in track races and long-distance marathons. Shirley races in special categories for athletes with disabilities, known as T53/T54. She has proudly represented the United States at the Summer Paralympics three times: in 2004, 2008, and 2012. A big moment in her career was winning the 2012 Boston Marathon race.
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Early Life
Shirley Reilly was born in Anchorage, Alaska. She was born six weeks early and became paralyzed from the waist down. As a child, she had many surgeries to help her health.
Her Racing Career
Shirley moved to California and finished high school in Los Gatos in 2003. While in high school, she loved competitive sports. She focused on track athletics, which involves running, jumping, and throwing.
Shirley competed in the 2002 IWAS World Games. Her big dream was to take part in the Summer Paralympics. She achieved this goal at the 2004 Athens Games.
Moving to Marathons
After the 2004 Paralympics, Shirley started focusing more on road races, especially the marathon. A marathon is a very long race, usually about 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers).
- In 2005, she came in second place in the wheelchair section of the Los Angeles Marathon.
- The next year, in 2006, she returned to the Los Angeles Marathon and won it!
Shirley became a regular and strong competitor at the famous Boston Marathon.
- In 2005, she finished fourth.
- In 2006, she improved to third place.
- In 2007, she placed fifth.
In 2008, she came in fourth in the wheelchair race at the Peachtree 10K. This is a 10-kilometer race.
Paralympic and Marathon Success
Shirley made her second Paralympic appearance at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. She competed in the 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and the marathon. She finished seventh in the marathon.
The next year, in 2009, she continued to do well in marathons:
- She was runner-up at the Gasparilla Distance Classic.
- She finished third at both the 2009 Boston Marathon and Grandma's Marathon.
- In November, she raced in the New York City Marathon for the first time and took seventh place.
In 2010, Shirley finished fourth at the 2010 Boston Marathon. Her time was 1 hour, 57 minutes, and 23 seconds.
She set a new personal best time of 1 hour, 41 minutes, and 1 second at the 2011 Boston Marathon. She finished second, right behind another great racer, Wakako Tsuchida. Shirley also represented the United States at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships.
Winning the Boston Marathon
A huge achievement came in 2012 when Shirley won the 2012 Boston Marathon. She beat Wakako Tsuchida by just one second at the finish line! Her winning time was a new personal best of 1 hour, 37 minutes, and 36 seconds.
Later that same month, she raced in the London Marathon for the first time. She finished fourth, behind Canada's Diane Roy.
Personal Life
Shirley Reilly is part of the Iñupiat people, who are Native Alaskans.
