College: Penn State
Event: 3,000 Steeplechase – 9:32.35
Coach: Mark Rowland
Personal Blog: http://bridgetfranek.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @blfranek

A 10-time NCAA All-American, Midwesterner Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) moved west to Eugene to join OTC Elite in the summer of 2010 – following a record-setting college career at Penn State.

Professional: With Bridget having the second-fastest 3,000 steeplechase time in America during the 2011 season, she set out in 2012 to make her first U.S. Olympic team. Her indoor season opened with a personal best in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:04.09. Franek returned two weeks later to Seattle, Washington for an indoor 5,000 meters. She finished 7 seconds off her personal best, including outdoor performances, in 15:53.84. She returned to the 5,000 meters at the beginning of the outdoor season at the Payton Jordan where she nearly matched her personal best with a 15:48.96. Beginning with the Oregon Twilight, Bridget raced ten 3,000 steeplechase races over the season. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Bridget won her preliminary round. Four days later, Bridget earned her place on Team USA with a second place finish in the final. Two weeks following the Trials, Franek traveled to the UK to begin final preperations for the Olympic Games. She competed in the London Diamond League at Crystal Palace and finished 4th with a new personal best of 9:29.53. At the Olympics, Bridget qualified for the final where she finished 14th. Bridget's outdoor season continued after the Olympics with two more races, noteably the 3,000 steeplechase in Paris at the DecaNation meet, which she won.

Franek ran one Indoor event in 2011 and opened the outdoor season with a few meets at Hayward Field.  Her early season was sprinkled with  5ks and 1500’s, with her first full steeplechase at the Oregon Twilight Meet in 9:56.59. She ran Diamond League events in Rome and New York, running her best time of the year (3:38.92)at the NY Adidas Grand Prix. She qualified for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea by placing 2nd at the USA Championships in a time of 9:44.90. In Daegu she failed to make the finals placing 7th in her heat with a time of 9:43.09.  She concluded her summer season with two more international meets, including the 2011 Decanations in Nice, France where she placed 2nd for team USA in a time of 9:40.51.

In her first competitive race as a professional, Franek finished fifth at the Pre Classic on July 3, 2010 – setting a personal best of 9:32.35, which ranked her sixth on the nation’s all-time list in the steeplechase and granted her the second-best time run by an American in 2010. She finished the season by competing in the Stockholm and London Diamond League events before officially relocating and joining the OTC Elite.

College: Franek capped off a star-studded four years at Penn State with a NCAA Division I title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Oregon’s Hayward Field in June of 2010. While running for the Nittany Lions, Franek set six Penn State school records: in the 3,000 steeplechase, the mile, the indoor 1,600, the indoor 3,000, the 4x1500 and the DMR. … Over here career, Franek took part in 12 consecutive NCAA Championships. … In the spring of 2009, Franek finished third at the USA Track and Field Championships and earned a spot to run at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin. … The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Triple Crown that year – winning conference titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Franek was named MVP of that team. … In 2007, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and she won the 3, 000 steeplechase at the prestigious Penn Relays.

High School: As a senior at Crestwood High in Hiram, Ohio, Franek won four state titles (4x800, 800, 1,600, 3,200) at the 2006 OHSAA State Track and Field Championships and currently holds three Division II state records: in the 800 (2:11.22), the 1,600 (4:50.10), and the 3,200 (10:16.50). She also won state titles in 2004 and 2005 in cross country and the 1600-meter title in 2005. Franek was not just a running star at Crestwood, she also competed in soccer, basketball and swimming – lettering in five sports.

Personal: Born November 8, 1987, Franek received a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State in Kinesiology: Movement Science. In addition to participating in five high school sports, Franek also played the saxophone in the marching band and the oboe in the concert band. She gains much support from her mother Rosalie, her father Thomas and her brother Josh – who were all distance runners at Bowling Green University.

PERSONAL BESTS- Indoor
1,000 Meters – 2:50.97, Penn State Open, Penn State University, 2007
1,600 Meters – 4:38.63, Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, Penn State Univ., 2009
3,000 Meters – 9:04.09, Washington Invitational, Seattle, Wash. January 27, 2012
5,000 Meters - 15:53.84, Husky Classic, Seattle, Wash. February 11, 2012

PERSONAL BESTS- Outdoor
800 Meters – 2:11.6, Jim Click Shootout, University of Arizona, 2009
1,500 Meters – 4:18.33, Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Indiana University, 2010
Mile – 4:40.65, Penn Relays, University of Pennsylvania, 2010
3,000m Steeplechase – 9:29.53, London Diamond League, London, UK – July 13, 2012
5,000 Meters – 15:46.08, Payton Jordan Invitational, Stanford University, 2010