Americans Shalane Flanagan, left, and Amy Cragg finished sixth and ninth, respectively, in last weekend’s women’s marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. AP Photo
By Harold Rivera
Marblehead continues to shine in the summer Olympics.
Just days after Kayla Harrison, who resides in Marblehead, won a gold medal in women’s judo, Shalane Flanagan made it her turn to make the town proud. Flanagan, a Marblehead native, finished sixth in the women’s marathon Sunday with a time of two hours, 25 minutes and 26 seconds. A graduate of Marblehead High, Flanagan was the first American to cross the finish line in the marathon.
The 35-year-old won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when she competed in the 10,000-meter race.
But before starting for the United States in the Olympics, Flanagan was a standout athlete in her days at Marblehead High.
Susan Guertin, swimming and diving coach at Marblehead High, got the chance to coach Flanagan when she joined the swim team at the Marblehead YMCA at the age of 7, and into her high school days.
“She was an amazing little breaststroker,” Guertin recalled. “I remember her as a hard worker.”
Flanagan’s athletic career began in the swimming pool at Salem State University, a facility that was rented by the Marblehead YMCA at the time. That’s where Guertin noticed her strong skill set as a swimmer.
“She was just amazing,” Guertin said. “I can still see her swimming breaststroke. She had a gift. Not anybody can be a breaststroker. You have to have an incredible kick and that was her stroke.”
As Flanagan moved onto her middle and high school days, she began to star as a dual-athlete in track and swimming. That’s when it became clear to Guertin that she was going to be something special.
“I knew she was a very talented athlete and a very talented runner,” Guertin said. “When she started winning everything in middle and high school I knew she was going to some something special. Absolutely.”
During her sophomore year at Marblehead, Flanagan made a choice between the sports. She decided to stick to running, and made a career out of it that’s led her to the world’s grandest stage in athletics.
“I tell parents and kids now not to zero in on one sport when you’re young,” Guertin said. “You don’t really know what you’ll be good at. I love to see kids do a number of things to get a feel for different things. When you find a passion for one particular sport, that’s when you stick to it.”
Guertin, who has coached swimming at Marblehead High since 1989, said she shared Flanagan’s story as a way to inspire her current athletes.
“They hear about Shalane all the time,” she said. “So do the parents. You have to have that commitment to something and I tell the kids that all the time. I don’t care what it is, when you do something, you do it well. You put your all into it.”
Guertin, who was in the swimming pool at a local club when Flanagan became the first American to finish the race, said she’s appreciative of being a part of a career that makes Marblehead proud.
“I was at the pool and everybody in the club was watching her on the TV,” she said. “Everybody here knows each other. It’s a small town. People were so proud of her because this doesn’t happen every day.
“It’s pretty special,” she added. “I certainly can’t take credit for her success. It was great being a part of her young athletic experiences and following her great career. She ran incredibly well in Rio. To be the first American to finish was really terrific.”
Had Flanagan chosen swimming instead of running, Guertin said she believes her career would still be the huge success that it is today.
“She just had that drive,” Guertin said. “It takes a tremendous amount of commitment and drive. As a really young swimmer, I can still remember that drive she had. There’s not even a question in my mind. That’s the difference between an athlete and a champion.”