Joan Benoit Samuelson
“I have one more goal left in running and that is to run a sub-2:50 marathon in the Olympic trials at age 50. I could come full circle and end my career where I started.”
Biography
Joan Benoit Samuelson is widely considered a pioneer of women's marathon running. She was the first – and remains the only American – woman ever to have won Olympic gold for the marathon, taking the women’s marathon title at the 1984 Los Angeles games.
Benoit Samuelson excelled in athletics in high school. She entered the Boston Marathon in 1979 – winning in record time. She won again in 1983 with a time fast enough to have won all but one of the subsequent 24 races. In 1985, she was awarded the Sullivan Award. Benoit Samuelson is the American record holder for the marathon and half marathon.
She founded the Beach to Beacon 10K Race which attracts the world's top distance runners. Since retiring from competitive running, Benoit Samuelson has written several books including Running Tide and Running for Women, and opened a running clinic. She coaches women's cross-country and long-distance runners and is a motivational speaker and sports commentator.
Career Highlights
| 1979 | Won Boston Marathon in record time (2h35.15) |
| 1983 | Won Boston Marathon in world record time (2h22.43) |
| 1984 | Won inaugural women’s Olympic marathon in Los Angeles (2h24.52) |
| 1985 | Won Chicago Marathon in US record time of 2h21:21 |
| Presented with James E. Sulllivan Award as top US amateur athlete | |
| 1992 | Won Columbus Marathon |
| 1997 | Launched inaugural Beach to Beacon 10K Race |
| 2000 | 9th in US Olympic marathon trials (aged 43) |
| 2006 | Helped pace Lance Armstrong in New York Marathon |
Links
Benoit Samuelson established the Beach to Beacon 10K Race in 1997 to draw runners of all abilities together in a race where they could rub shoulders with the world’s top athletes.
