1973- Ethiopian marathon runner The first African woman to ever win an Olympic marathon, Fatuma Roba walked away with the gold in 2000 after crossing the marathon finish line in Olympic Stadium in 2:26.05 and beating silver medalist Valentina Yegorova of Russia by two minutes. A native of Ethiopia, Roba made similar history in her first attempt at the historic Boston Marathon in 1997, becoming …
1942- American marathon runner On April 19, 1966, Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb became the first woman to run and finish the Boston Marathon. In a field of 500 male runners, she was the 125th to cross the finish line, shattering the long-held belief that women could not compete in endurance sports. Her accomplishments paved the way for the passage of Title IX and the inclusion of a women�…
1973- Kenyan marathon runner In 1998 Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe became the first African woman to win a major marathon when she came in first at the New York City Marathon in 1994. She then set a women's world record on the 26.2-mile marathon course at the 1998 Rotterdam Marathon, a record she broke in 1999 in Berlin, Germany. Loroupe has continued to show herself as one of the world…
1957- American marathon runner Distance runner Joan Benoit Samuelson broke the female course record for the Boston Marathon in 1979, then went on to set a record for both the historic New England race and the world in 1983 by running the 26.2-mile marathon distance in a record two hours 22 minutes, 43 seconds. Samuelson's other achievements, including winning the gold medal as part of the U…
1953- Norwegian marathon runner Distance runner Grete Waitz has set world records in the 3,000 meter, 8 kilometer, 10 kilometer, 15 kilometer, 10 mile, and the marathon. She was the first woman to run a marathon in under 2 hours and 30 minutes, and the first female world champion in the marathon. She has won the New York City Marathon nine times. Address: 3448 NW 104th Way, Gainesville, FL 32606. …
