Abbey Cooper (née D'Agostino; born May 25, 1992) is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Cooper is the most decorated Ivy League athlete in track and field and cross country running. She is the first Dartmouth female distance runner to win an NCAA title. She won a total of seven NCAA titles (1 – cross country; 4 – indoor track; 2 – outdoor track) in her career. In 2014, she became a professional runner for New Balance.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she received considerable international media attention following an incident during a 5000m heat in which both she and New Zealander Nikki Hamblin fell. The two women helped each other finish the race and were allowed to compete in the final; however, Cooper had suffered a torn anterior crucial ligament and meniscus and wasn't able to participate further. Both athletes were praised for their sportsmanship and "Olympic spirit", and were subsequently awarded the Rio 2016 Fair Play Award by the International Fair Play Committee.
Personal life
Cooper attended Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford, Massachusetts. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014. Her mother Donna competed for the UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs. She has two younger sisters, Lily and Julia.
She is a devout Christian. She married Jacob Cooper in July 2018, who works as the clinical sport psychologist at Appalachian State University.
Dartmouth
In 2013 Cooper became the first Ivy League athlete, male or female, to win an NCAA Cross Country National Championship. After winning her 2013 NCAA Cross Country title and 5th NCAA title in her career, she praised coach Mark Coogan for the preparation for championship running and close finishes; She won the NCAA cross country title by outdistancing Emma Bates by a few seconds. She is the first Ivy League athlete to win 7 individual NCAA Championships. She is also the only woman ever to have won both the 3000 meters and 5000 meters NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships twice in a career which she did in 2013 as a junior and again in 2014 as a senior. Cooper broke Ryan Pandolfini’s (née Fagan) long-standing 10K record by over a minute in 2014, and is the current Dartmouth record holder in the 3K, 5K, and 10K. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female collegiate cross country runner in 2014.
Cooper earned her final Ivy league titles May 2014. She graduated with a degree in psychology in 2014.
Professional
2012
Cooper's 5th place at 2012 Olympic Trials 5000 meters and nearly clinching a spot on the Olympic team is one of the closest finishes in Olympic Trials distance races (less than 0.19 seconds between 3–4–5). In 2012, at 20 years of age her platform as a star in the NCAA created a national following.
2014
After graduating from Dartmouth in 2014, Cooper earned a sponsorship with New Balance based in Boston, Massachusetts. Abbey was coached by her college coach Mark Coogan under whom she was a 7-time NCAA champion from 2014-2018.
Cooper is ranked 19th in the world in the 5000 meters and 65th in the 10,000 meters in 2014.
Cooper debuted as a New Balance athlete in October 2014 in the 24th Mayor's Cup presented by the Boston Athletic Association placing fourth behind winner Rachel Hannah of Canada and the Boston Athletic Association's Juliet Bottorff and Jen Rhines.
2015
Cooper ran the 5000m in 15:42.79 at Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, CA (USA) on May 2, 2015. She won the 5000 meters at the Hoka One One Adrian Martinez Classic in 15:23.66 on June 4.
Cooper earned a US Roster spot to the IAAF 2015 World Championships in Athletics by qualifying in the 5000 meters in 15:06.59 at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. On July 18, she finished 3rd in 15:03.85 in Heusden, Belgium. On August 27, she finished 23rd in 16:16.47 at 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 5000 metres.
2016
On January 2, Cooper ran a personal best in a mixed gender 3000 meters at Boston University in 8:51.88. On March 12, she placed second in women 3000 meters in 8:57.31 at 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships to represent the United States at 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Women's 3000 metres. She finished in a time of 8:58.40 in 3000 meters at 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships to place fifth.