Geena Gall

Geena Gall (born January 18, 1987), is an Olympic American mid-distance runner who ran for the University of Michigan. Gall's achievements include back to back NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m in 2008 and 2009, representing the USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany in the 800m. She also competed at the North American Central American Caribbean Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2007 (3rd place) and Toluca, Mexico in 2008 (1st place). Gall was a member of the "Fab Four" who set two collegiate records (4 x 800, and 4 x 1500) at the 2007 Penn Relays, a ten-time NCAA All-American,[1] owning two Big Ten 800 meter records and two DMR records,[2] 10 Big Ten championships,[2] numerous U of M school records,[3] and at Grand Blanc High School she was a three-time national champion.[4]

Gall at the 2009 World Championships

Prep

Gall was born in Flint, Michigan. As a freshman at Grand Blanc High School she played on the varsity basketball team and started at point guard. During an AAU basketball game, Gall tore her ACL and could not run outdoor track. As a sophomore, Gall again started at point guard for GBHS and led the team to a conference championship. During the indoor track season, Gall qualified for the 400m at the indoor state meet, but false started and was disqualified. During the outdoor season, she ran the 400m and came in 6th place. As a junior, Gall played her on the basketball team which won the Conference and District championship. During the indoor track season, she won the indoor state meet in the 800m, and went on to win her first high school national championship in the 800m at Nike Indoor Nationals. Outdoor, Gall won the Michigan state meet 800m, and was second at Adidas Outdoor Nationals. Senior year, Gall stopped playing basketball to focus on her running career. During the indoor season, Gall won the state meet in a record time of 2:08.77, and won the 800m for the second time at the Nike Indoor Nationals, beating Sarah Bowman. Outdoor, Gall set the conference record in a time of 2:07.90, won the state meet, Midwest Meet of Champions, and the Nike Outdoor National meet, in a personal best time of 2:05.05.

High School State Meet
Year Indoor Outdoor
2001 (Freshman) Did not compete Did not compete
2002 (Sophomore) 400m DQ 400m 6th
2003 (Junior) 800m 1st 800m 1st
2004 (Senior) 800m 1st 800m 1st

University of Michigan

Gall won the 2009 Outdoor NCAA D1 Championship to repeat as the 800 meter champion in 2:00.80. Gall also won the 2008 Outdoor NCAA Division One 800 meter title.[5] Gall was a member of the cross country and track and field teams from 2005 - 2009 where the 10-time NCAA All-American[6] earned national acclaim.[7][8] Gall earned USTFCCCA national honors as Ten-time NCAA Division I All-American.

Personal Records
Collegiate Records Time Event
Collegiate 4 x 800 8:18.78 Penn Relays
Collegiate 4 x 1500 17:52.62 Penn Relays
Big Ten Indoor 800m 2:04.7 Big Ten Championships
Big Ten Outdoor 800m 2:02.73 Big Ten Championships
Big Ten Distance Medley Relay 11:19.68 Big Ten Championships

Professional

2009 World Championship
Gall finished in 2:01.30 to finish 6th in semifinal heat.

2012 London Olympics

Gall broke her personal record in the 800m at the 2012 Prefontaine Classic, finishing behind Alysia Montaño with a run of 1:59.28 minutes and then broke it again at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials, finishing second to Alysia Montaño once again, in a time of 1:59.24 minutes, having made a late charge on the home stretch.[9] She represented Team USA in the 800-meter event alongside Alysia Montano (1:59.08) and Alice Schmidt (1:59.46). At the Olympics she reached the semi-finals, finishing in 3rd place in her semifinal.[10]

2013 Des Moines USATF Championship
Gall finished 8th at USA Outdoors in 2:04.07 in 95 degree temperature. Gall showed glimpse of top form at Occidental College in May running 2:01.11. Gall is now being coached by Mike McGuire (University of Michigan).[11][12]

2015 Boston USATF Championship
Geena finished 8th in 1000 meters.[13][14]

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2014 World Relay Championships Nassau, Bahamas 1st 4 × 800 m relay 8:01.58
Professional Records Time Event
800m 1:59.24 2012 US Olympic Trials
1500m 4:09.95 Victoria Track Classic
Mile 4:31.4 Husky Classic- UW

Gall served as a volunteer coach since 2016 at UCLA Bruins.[15]

References
  1. http://www.mgoblue.com/track-field-w/article.aspx?id=60794
  2. "Big Ten Conference Official Site". Bigten.cstv.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  3. "MGoBlue: Geena Gall". www.mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  4. "Nike Outdoor Nationals". Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  5. "University of Michigan Athletics - Women's Track". Bentley.umich.edu. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  6. "Geena Gall | Total Sports Management US, Inc". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  7. "Women's Track - University of Michigan Official Athletic Site". Mgoblue.Com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  8. "Women's Cross Country - University of Michigan Official Athletic Site". Mgoblue.Com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  9. "IAAF Diamond League". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  10. "Geena Gall Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
  11. "Mike McGuire Bio". Mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  12. "USA Track & Field - Geena Lara". Usatf.org. 1987-01-18. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  13. "Women 1000 Meter Run".
  14. "USA Track & Field - USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships". Legacy.usatf.org. 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  15. UCLA GEENA GALL TITLE Volunteer Assistant Coach profile Archived 2016-12-29 at the Wayback Machine UCLA. September 2016.
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