Jenny Simpson becomes first American woman to ever win 1,500m medal

Published Aug. 16, 2016 10:05 p.m. ET

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The 1,500-meter race at the Olympics was first run at the first modern Games in 1896 by men, but it took until 1972 for the first women's 1500m race. Over the course of 11 Olympics, from Munich to London, an American woman had never managed to finish on the podium. 

Jenny Simpson changed that Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro. 

Simpson, who won the 2011 World Championship at the distance but didn't make the final the following year in London, finished third behind Kenya's Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon and Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba, just three tenths of a second out of silver medal position. Simpson's American teammate Shannon Rowbury crossed the line in fourth, a half-second behind.

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