|
Joan Benoit
entered the 1984 Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles
knowing that Norwegian all-time greats Grete Waitz and
Ingrid Kristiansen
were the favorites to win. The hot
conditions convinced Waitz and Kristiansen to run a slower
than usual pace when the gun sounded, while Benoit chose to
ignore the conditions. Running aggressively from the
beginning, Benoit covered the distance between 10 km and 20
km in a brisk 33:08, which gave her a 400m lead she would
never relinquish. At 30 km her lead increased to close to
two minutes over the world-class field.
Benoit
crossed the finish line some 400 meters in front of Waitz to
become the first women's Olympic marathon champion in
history and instantly inspiring millions to take up distance
running. Her winning time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 52 seconds
was then the third-fastest ever.
A two-time
winner of the Boston Marathon and the first woman ever to
win both the Olympic and Boston Marathons, Benoit Samuelson
will join Michael Johnson in being inducted into the
National Track & Field Hall of Fame December 3, 2004 in
Portland.
click here for other top 25 performances
click here for
other special notations |
