Thanks to &#;Joanie&#; We Have Running
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[Edit&#;s note: August 5, marks the 40th anniversary of the first women&#;s marathon in the Olympic Games. American running legend Joan Benoit Samuelson won that race in dramatic fashion, pulling away from the pack at the 3-mile mark and finished the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 52 seconds—more than a minute ahead of the nearest competitor.]
It&#;s astounding to think about, but before , the longest women’s running event in the Olympics was the meters.
That&#;s just three-and-three-quarter laps around a track. Not even a full mile.
Any further, there was a notion—albeit extremely unfounded and archaic—that women’s reproductive systems would be in jeopardy. Not years ago—but unbelievably, just 40 years—the first women’s Olympic marathon course finished in the Los Angeles Coliseum, and a hearty Mainer who had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery three months prior broke the tape to a roar of cheers. Joan Benoit Samuelson won the first-ever Olympic
Apr – Boston Marathon – – Nike Lady Terra T/C
Date of birth: May
Nationality: American
The athlete:
Joan Benoit has been featured several times on this website, such was her presence in distance running at the time. She most famously captured gold at the Olympics in the first ever women&#;s marathon held at the event in dominant fashion, setting an Olympic record that lasted until It is however another chapter of her story that we will focus on in this entry.
In , Benoit lined up at the Boston Marathon hoping to snatch her second win at the prestigious race. Such was her pace in the early stages of the event that her pacer advised she was on track to finish in It was no hyperbole, Benoit finishing the first half of the race in , a new American record. This was after she had set the new American record for the 10 mile split, covering that in only There was however still the matter of the notorious hills in the latter stages of the course.
She had been told before the race that the day before the legendary Grete Waitz had taken the world record at the London Marathon; the desire to beat that time motivated
5-Aug – Los Angeles Olympics – – Nike Skylon Racer
Date of birth: May
Nationality: American
Olympic Record duration: 16 years, 1 month, 19 days
The athlete:
It cannot be understated how significant the Olympics were for women’s distance running. It was mostly thanks to the efforts of two legends of the sport, Jacqueline Hansen and Kathrine Switzer, that the event took place at all.
Switzer herself made headlines as the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon back in She would be equally known for the infamous photographs of a senior race official, who I won’t dignify to name, assaulting her during the race in an attempt to get her to stop.
Hansen was one of the top distance running talents of her generation and held the world record on two separate occasions, first in and again in Both women had already started their efforts at lobbying officialdom to have greater inclusion of women in distance running, their efforts going into overdrive near the later parts of their own running careers.
Switzer would turn her focus to sports marketing, and in was presented by the Avon cosmetics company with an i
Samuelson, Joan Benoit (—)
American runner and gold-medal winner in the first Olympic marathon for women. Name variations: Joan Benoit. Pronunciation: BAH-noit. Born Joan Benoit on May 16, , in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; daughter of Nancy Benoit and Andre Benoit (a clothing retailer); Bowdoin College, B.A. in history and environmental studies, ; married Scott Samuelson, in ; children: Abigail (b. ); Anders (b. ).
Placed first in the Boston Marathon, with a time of (); placed first and set a world record, Boston Marathon, (); placed first, Olympic Marathon Trials, (); won Olympic gold medal and set Olympic record for the women's marathon, (); received Jessie Owens Award (); named Women's Sports Foundation Amateur Sportswoman of the Year (); set world and American records, Chicago Women's Marathon, ().
In August , Joan Benoit Samuelson arrived in Los Angeles to compete in the first-ever Olympic marathon for women. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had previously banned women from competing in the event, believing that the long-distance run posed a health hazard to women. The inaugural marathon began early in the morning at the track of Santa Monica City College, whil
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