Joan Benoit

Joan Benoit was the winner of the first Olympic women’s marathon at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. Born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Benoit earned All-American honors at North Carolina State in 1977 and 1978. She then entered the 1979 Boston Marathon as a relative unknown, yet won the by race knocking eight minutes off the competition record. Benoit also captured the U.S. 10,000-meter championship in 1981, and won the Boston Marathon again in 1983, setting a new world record in the process. She captured the 3,000 at the Pan American Games the same year. Prior to the Los Angeles 1984 Games, Benoit suffered from a severe knee injury, forcing her to undergo surgery just 17 days before the U.S. Olympic Trials. She would go on to win the trials and repeat her success in Los Angeles, winning the first-ever women’s marathon at an Olympic Games. With a win at the 1985 Chicago Marathon, Benoit was awarded the James E. Sullivan for the nation’s best amateur athlete. She continued to compete in marathons and long-distance events, and also served as a cross-country coach, motivational speaker and sports commentator.