Joan Benoit facts for kids
Benoit in 2008
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Joan Benoit Samuelson | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 16, 1957 Cape Elizabeth, Maine, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 2 in | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 lb | |||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Scott Samuelson (m. September 29, 1984) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | USA | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field athletics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 3000 m, Marathon | |||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Bowdoin, North Carolina State | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Athletics West | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Bob Sevene | |||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 1984 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Joan Benoit Samuelson, born on May 16, 1957, is a famous American marathon runner. She made history by becoming the first woman to win the marathon gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Joan also held the record for the fastest time by an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest by an American woman in that race for 28 years. She was honored by being added to the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
Contents
Joan's Early Running Career
Joan Benoit was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She started long-distance running to help her recover from a broken leg. This injury happened while she was slalom skiing. At Bowdoin College, she was very good at athletics.
College Running Success
After two years at Bowdoin, Joan received a running scholarship. She went to North Carolina State and focused only on running. She earned special honors as an "All-America" athlete in 1977 and 1978. In 1978, she helped her team, the Wolfpack, win the Atlantic Coast Conference cross-country championship. She was also named the best female college cross-country runner in the nation for 1979–80.
First Boston Marathon Wins
Joan returned to Bowdoin to finish her degree. In 1979, she entered the Boston Marathon as a new runner. She surprised everyone by winning the race. She wore a Boston Red Sox cap and finished in 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 15 seconds. This time was eight minutes faster than the previous race record.
In 1981, she won the U.S. 10,000 meter championship. She finished with a time of 33 minutes and 37.50 seconds. Even after having surgery on her Achilles tendons, she won the Boston Marathon again in 1983. She set a new course record of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 43 seconds. This was more than two minutes faster than the world's best time set just one day earlier. Her Boston record lasted for 11 years.
Olympic Gold and Later Achievements
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In March 1984, Joan hurt her knee during a training run. She had knee surgery just 17 days before the U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials. However, she recovered very quickly. She was the favorite to win the trials in Olympia, Washington. She won the race, beating the second-place runner by 30 seconds.
Winning the Olympic Marathon
Three months later, Joan competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She won the very first Olympic Women's Marathon. Her time was 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 52 seconds. She finished several hundred meters ahead of other top runners.
Joan also did well in shorter races. She won the famous Falmouth Road Race (7.1 miles) six times. She broke the course record four of those times.
Continuing to Run and Inspire
In 1985, Joan won the Chicago Marathon. She set an American Record time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 21 seconds. This record stood for 18 years. After her Olympic win, she faced some injuries. However, she continued to be a strong runner. She received the 1985 James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
Joan has also written books about running. These include Running Tide (1987) and Running for Women (1995).
In 1998, she started the Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. This is a 10 km (6.2 mi) race held every August in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Many of the world's best distance runners come to this race. Joan herself ran this race in 2022. She finished as the 69th woman overall and first in her age group.
Running into Her Fifties and Sixties
In 2003, at age 46, Joan won the Maine half-marathon. She beat many runners who were two decades younger than her. In 2006, she helped pace former cycling champion Lance Armstrong in the New York City Marathon.
At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team trials, at age 50, she finished in 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 8 seconds. This set a new U.S. record for runners over 50. In 2009, she broke the Senior Masters record for runners older than 50 at the New York City Marathon. Her time was 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 9 seconds.
In 2010, she ran the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 50 seconds. This was the fastest time ever by a woman over 52. In 2011, she ran the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 51 minutes, and 29 seconds, placing first in her age group.
Between 2013 and 2015, Joan ran the Boston Marathon every year. She set three of the four fastest marathon times for the 55–59 age group. In 2019, Joan ran the Boston Marathon again, 40 years after her first win. She finished in 3 hours and 4 minutes. This was within 30 minutes of her winning time from 1979. She also won her age group (60–64).
Life in Maine and Recognition
Joan lives in Freeport, Maine. The high school athletic complex there is named the "Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field." She coaches women's cross-country and long-distance athletes. She is also a motivational speaker and sports commentator.
Joan and her husband, Scott Samuelson, have two children, Abby and Anders. Both of their children are also runners. They even shared running the 2014 Boston Marathon with their mother.
Joan has been honored in many halls of fame. She was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1998. She also joined the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004, and the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2017, a plaque honoring her was placed in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum's Court of Honor.
Marathon Achievements
- All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
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Representing the  United States |
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| 1978 | Bermuda Marathon | Bermuda | 2nd | 2:50:54 |
| 1979 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | 2:35:15 |
| 1980 | Auckland Marathon | Auckland, New Zealand | 1st | 2:31:23 |
| 1981 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 3rd | 2:30:17 |
| 1982 | Nike OTC Marathon | Eugene, United States | 1st | 2:26:12 |
| 1983 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | 2:22:43 |
| 1984 | Summer Olympics | Los Angeles, United States | 1st | 2:24:52 |
| 1985 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | 2:21:21 |
| 1988 | New York City Marathon | New York City, United States | 3rd | 2:32:40 |
| 1991 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 4th | 2:26:54 |
| 1991 | New York City Marathon | New York City, United States | 6th | 2:33:49 |
| 2013 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 47th (overall) 1st (AG) |
2:50:29 |
| 2019 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 245th (overall) 1st (AG) |
3:04:00 |
AG = Samuelson is credited with winning her age group at the 2013 and 2019 Boston Marathon. The 2013 race is the fastest marathon by a woman aged 55–59. However, it is not officially recognized by World Masters Athletics. This is because the Boston Marathon course does not meet all international rules for world record qualifying marathons.
See also
In Spanish: Joan Benoit para niños
