Marblehead to honor Olympian Flanagan

MARBLEHEAD – The town will erect a sign to honor hometown Olympic medalist Shalane Flanagan.Selectmen unanimously voted Monday afternoon to authorize Town Administrator Tony Sasso to put a sign up on Lafayette Street at the entrance to the town, honoring the 2000 Marblehead High graduate for her bronze medal in the 10,000 meter race in Beijing.Flanagan is only the second American woman to receive an Olympic medal in the 10,000 meter distance. She is 27 years old.Selectmen discussed the rumored possibility that Flanagan will visit Marblehead soon. "We should invite her to a selectmen’s meeting," said Selectman Judy Jacobi.The American long-distance runner was born in Boulder, Colo., and she currently lives in North Carolina with her husband Steven Ashley Edwards – but she grew up in Marblehead with her father, Steve Flanagan, a U.S. World Cross Country Champion participant and marathon runner (personal record of 2:18) and her stepmother Monica.Her mother, Cheryl Treworgy, is a former marathon world record holder (Cheryl Bridges – 1971) and five-time U.S. World Cross Country Championship participant.Flanagan holds American record times in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meter distances. At Marblehead High she was on the soccer and swimming teams as well as cross country and track. Her MHS record includes three-time All-State cross country performances, a first-place All-State finish in the mile, and a two-mile win – a record which still stands. Her 4:46 mile won the Indoor National Scholastic Championships.She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she won national cross country titles in 2002 and 2003 – becoming the first individual champion in the sport in Tar Heel history – and numerous track accolades.In 2004 she advanced to the professional level, setting American records of 8:33.25 in the 3,000 meter distance and 14:44.80 in the 5,000 meter distance. She is a two-time national champion in the women’s 5,000 meters.She ran the 10,000 meter distance for the first time in 2008, setting a record time of 30:34.49. In Beijing she finished third but still beat her own record with a time of 30:22.22.