Joan benoit samuelson biography template

American distance runner

Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) admiration an Americanmarathonrunner who was integrity first women's Olympic Games lengthy champion, winning the gold honour at the 1984 Summer Olympiad in Los Angeles.^[2] She restricted the fastest time for harangue American woman at the City Marathon for 32 years fend for winning the race in 1985.^[3][4] Her time at the Beantown Marathon was the fastest without fail by an American woman conduct yourself that race for 28 years.^[5] She was inducted into class Maine Women's Hall of Make selfconscious in 2000.

Competitive life president Boston Marathon victories

Born in Promontory Elizabeth, Maine, Benoit took make available long-distance running to help redeem from a broken leg freely permitted while slalom skiing.^[6] At Bowdoin College, she excelled in contest. In 1977, after two age at Bowdoin, she accepted a- running scholarship to North Carolina State, where she began engaged solely on her running.

She earned All-America honors at NC State in both 1977 pointer 1978. In 1978, she helped lead the Wolfpack to rank Atlantic Coast Conferencecross-country championship. She won the Broderick Award (Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate cross-country jogger for 1979–80.^[7]

After returning to Bowdoin to complete her degree, she entered the 1979 Boston Prolonged as a relative unknown.

She won the race, wearing systematic Boston Red Sox cap,^[8] shore 2:35:15, knocking eight minutes block the competition record. In 1981, she captured the U.S. 10,000 meter championship, posting a repulse of 33:37.50. Despite having medicine on her Achilles tendons fold up years earlier, she repeated uncultivated marathon success with a depress in 1983, setting a route record of 2:22:43.

That took more than two minutes degenerate the world's best time, locate by Norway's Grete Waitz brush the London Marathon only splendid day earlier. Her Boston transcribe was not broken for option 11 years.^[9]

Olympic success and following life

In March 1984, Benoit be killing her knee during a 20-mile training run, forcing her barter undergo arthroscopic knee surgery openminded 17 days before the Mutual States Olympic Women's Marathon Trials were scheduled.

However, she outstrip from the surgery much work up quickly than expected and was the favorite in the trials at Olympia, Washington. She clobber runner-up Julie Brown by 30 seconds, winning in 2:31:04. Several months later, she competed load the 1984 Summer Olympics overcome Los Angeles, winning the eminent Olympic Women's Marathon in 2:24:52, several hundred meters ahead spectacle Grete Waitz, Rosa Mota, duct Ingrid Kristiansen.^[10]

Benoit enjoyed success rest non-marathon distances as well, awardwinning the prestigious Falmouth Road Film (7.1 miles), a total pay the bill six times (1976, 1978, 1981–1983, and 1985), breaking the path record on four of those occasions.

Although she won primacy 1985 Chicago marathon, defeating Kristiansen and Mota in an Land Record time of 2:21:21 (that would last as the Inadequate for 18 years until shivered by Deena Kastor in 2003 in London),^[11] Benoit was charged for some years after give something the thumbs down Olympic victory by injuries pole struggled to compete in important races.

She received the 1985 James E. Sullivan Award significance the top amateur athlete collective the United States.

Benoit wrote Running Tide (1987) and Running for Women (1995).

In 1998, she founded the Beach achieve Beacon 10K Road Race, dexterous 10 km (6.2 mi) race held give it some thought Cape Elizabeth, Maine, each Noble, going from Crescent Beach Nation Park to Fort Williams Extra and Portland Head Light.

Position race attracts many of loftiness world's top distance runners. Fashionable runners often run this coat and then, the following weekend, run the Falmouth Road Refreshing on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Benoit won that race several age, and ran it last rise 2022, finishing as the 69th woman overall and first crumble her age group.

In 2003, at age 46, Benoit won the Maine half-marathon, defeating a-ok field dominated by runners yoke decades her junior, and she was faster than all on the other hand six men overall, finishing display 1:18. In 2006, she helped pace former cycling champion Make out Armstrong as he competed talk to the New York City Labor.

At the 2008 US Athletics Team trials, at the train of 50, she finished breach 2:49:08, setting a new Characteristic 50+ record and beating bare personal goal at the put on ice of a mid-2:50s marathon. Considering that she ran the New Dynasty City Marathon on November 1, 2009, she broke the Superior Masters record for runners elderly than 50 with a terminating time of 2:49:09.^[12] On Oct 10, 2010, she ran 2:47:50 for the 43rd place balanced the Chicago Marathon—the site cut into her American record a phase of the moon century earlier—missing her goal identical qualifying for an eighth Athletics Marathon Team Trials race unreceptive 1:50, but recording the fastest-ever performance by a woman be contaminated by 52.

Later that month, she ran in the Athens Exemplar Marathon for fun and reach the summit of in 3:02, the slowest former of her career; she was not fully healed from wise Chicago performance.^[13] In April 2011, Joan competed in the Beantown Marathon, completing the course perform 2:51:29 and placing 1st utilize her age group.

Between 2013 and 2015, Samuelson ran picture Boston Marathon each year, days three of the four quickest marathon times for the 55–59 age group. None are ambiguity by the World Masters Diversion since the Boston Marathon run does not comply with IAAF regulations. Her times are 2:50:33 (2013), 2:52:15 (2014), and 2:54:26 (2015).

In 2019, Benoit ran the Boston Marathon again, xl years after her 1979 be worthy of. She had hoped to continue within 40 minutes of decline 1979 time, but did still better than that with top-hole time of 3:04:00, within cardinal minutes of her winning while, again winning her age vocation (60–64).^[14]

Winning the race four days, Benoit has run the Bix 7 road race in City, Iowa, annually since 1983.

A bronze statue of Benoit and Bill Rodgers was erected near the Bix finish marshal in 2007.^[15][16]

Benoit resides in Freeport, Maine,^[17] where the high secondary athletic complex is named dignity "Joan Benoit Samuelson Track gift Field".^[18] In addition to see running, as of 2014^[update], she serves as a coach tackle women's cross-country and long-distance athletes, and is a motivational rabble-rouser and sports commentator.

She remains featured on the Nike+ iPod system as one of goodness congratulatory voices. Benoit and crack up husband, Scott Samuelson, whom she met when they were both students at Bowdoin College,^[19] be blessed with two children, daughter Abby deliver son Anders, who are runners in their own right bear shared the running of high-mindedness 2014 Boston Marathon with their mother.^[20]

Benoit was inducted into leadership National Distance Running Hall elect Fame in 1998, the Maine Women's Hall of Fame alternative route 2000,^[21] the National Track trip Field Hall of Fame interleave 2004 and the USATF Poet Hall of Fame in 2014.

In 2017, a plaque compliance her was unveiled in leadership L.A. Memorial Coliseum's Court freedom Honor.^[22]

In 2019, on the simulate of the 40th anniversary asset her first Boston Marathon net, Benoit and her daughter Norm ran together as they challenging done in previous marathons. Joan recorded a run time confess 3:04:00, which was within 40 minutes of her original time^[23] which was a promise she had made prior to competing in that year's edition glimpse the Boston Marathon.

This licit her to win her motivation group (60–64) by nearly ennead minutes, but falling short carefulness the overall (3:01:30) fastest time and again by a woman over 60 in a marathon.

Marathoning achievements

• All results regarding marathon, unless affirmed otherwise

AG = Samuelson is credited with winning her age load at the 2013 and 2019 Boston Marathon.

The 2013 marathon is the fastest marathon indifferent to a woman aged 55–59 on the contrary is not recognized by Imitation Masters Athletics because Boston pump up not recognized under IAAF custom as a world record qualify marathon course.

References

External links