Olympic Gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson to Speak at New College

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- by New College News

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Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson will give a talk at New College of Florida on Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00 pm.  Her talk will take place in the College Hall Music Room on the College’s bayfront campus. Then, she will lead a fun run on Wednesday, May 13 at 9:00 am starting at Hamilton Center, the College’s student union, located off General Spaatz Boulevard, just east of U.S. 41 in Sarasota.  Both events are free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Sociology Department, Division of Social Sciences, Student Allocation Committee, Student Affairs, Gender Studies Program and the Gender and Diversity Center.

Benoit Samuelson is perhaps the most recognized female athlete in the history of U.S. distance running.  As a college senior, she broke the women’s course record for the Boston Marathon in 1979, shattering the previous course record by 8 minutes.  In 1983, she again broke the course record for the historic New England race, this time establishing a new world record as well, by running the 26.2-mile marathon distance in 2:22.43.

Ground-breaking Female Marathon Matriarch

  • “Pioneer in bringing acceptance to women’s distance running”
  • 1st women’s Olympic marathon champion at ’84 Los Angeles, 17 days after knee surgery. Only American woman to earn gold in marathon.
  • Winner of ’79 Boston Marathon as unknown, college senior. Broke marathon’s record by 8 minutes.
  • Winner ’85 Chicago Marathon, setting new American record.
  • 1985 James E. Sullivan Award for top U.S. amateur athlete.
  • USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, National Distance Running Hall of Fame, International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America National Hall of Fame, and the International Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame.
  • Author of Running Tide and Running for Women.
  • Founder of Beach to Beacon road race in Maine.
  • At 2008 Olympic trials, set new U.S. record for 50+ age group.
  • B.A. in environmental studies & history, Bowdoin College ‘79.
  • Featured in Olympic documentaries such as America’s Greatest Olympians and 16 Days of Glory.

For more information, please contact Greg Hite at (941) 487-4155 or email [email protected].