Shelly Steely enjoyed many memorable moments in her running career and recently it was announced she will be recognized with quite a high honor for her achievements.
The Belmont Plateau Hall of Fame committee disclosed the Bishop Conwell High School and University of Florida graduate will be inducted into its shrine in ceremonies on Aug. 29 in West Philadelphia.
Steely rose to greatness in both cross country and track during her school years but her crowning accomplishment came in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
She made it through the grind of qualifying for the finals of the 3,000 meters. In the ultimate race, she placed second American and seventh overall against a world class field.
The Bucks County running community also will remember her for winning 10 Philadelphia Catholic League titles in both track and cross country while running for Conwell.
At Florida, Steely finished second in the NCAA Division I cross country championships and captured numerous Southeastern Conference track victories in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter distances. Those would result in her being named an All-American competitor five times.
Following her collegiate years, she went on to compete in the World Cross Country Championships.
During this period she would qualify for the ’92 Olympics and then go on to that notable top 10 finish.
Steely will be part of an induction group, the 10th for the BPHOF, which will include Philadelphia-area running greats Gary Fanelli and Dave Patterson.
Told she was about to be inducted into the Belmont Plateau Hall of Fame, Steely said she was “honored” by the recognition.
“I feel honored to be recognized, particularly in the same year that we are celebrating America’s 250th,” Steely said in a telephone interview from her home in Australia. “Being a Pennsylvanian and growing up so close to Philadelphia is something I cherish and of which I am immensely proud.
“I’d like to think that my years of racing on Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park helped shape me for some of my bigger running accomplishments such as second in the NCAA 1984 Cross Country Championships and being a member of the U.S Women’s World Cross Country Championship team (gold medal).”
To think it all started back in Bucks County.
“I have found memories of my high school days, traveling by bus to compete with my teammates for Bishop Conwell High School,” Steely said. “So it was nice to catch up with my friends in Bristol (on an annual visit) last week.
“I felt the running battles and challenges I faced when I raced for Bishop Conwell helped create a foundation for my development and eventual successes in distance running. To be recognized by the place where so much of that journey began makes the honor especially meaningful.”
Steely helped the United States women’s cross country team win its one and only world title in 1985. She finished third among American runners and was a leader in the charge to glory in Portugal.
Bucks County running great Jan Yerkes, who is on the list of nominees for the Belmont Plateau Hall of Fame, competed against Steely on a number of occasions in the 1980s.
“She’s tenacious,” Yerkes recalled in a recent interview. “She’s a fighter and super, super, super fast. Shelly had that talent, that extra gear. She had talent coming out her ears.”
Steely currently remains active as a teacher and a recreational tennis player.
>Reaction to Kerr’s world record mile
The standard stood for 27 years, going all the way back to the 20th century.
So it was time for someone to run faster and that occasion came about last Saturday at the Diamond League Meet in London when 28-year-old Josh Kerr turned the trick with a stunning time of 3:42.66.
With all the improvements in shoe technology, nutrition and body strengthening techniques, one would think the record of 3:43.13 set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj back in 1999 would have fallen sooner.
It didn’t happen until Kerr, noting it was a non-Olympic and World Championships year, decided to focus on breaking the mile standard in 2026.
Kerr had a previous best of only 3:45.34, partly because the mile is not usually run at big international meets. The 1,500 meters is the more popular distance.
Let’s see if it takes the world’s fastest runners another 27 years to lower the standard again. With the level of competition so high and modern training being what it is, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another record set in a year or two.
>Race calendar
Sunday, Aug. 2
Steelman Triathlon, 8 a.m., Lake Nockamixon-Quakertown, 8 a.m. Contact www.steelmanracing.com
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