FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Joan Samuelson To Run 2011 Boston Marathon®
Four-time champion Bill Rodgers to serve as Grand Marshal of race.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that
Olympic Gold medalist and two-time Boston Marathon champion Joan Samuelson
will compete in the 115th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April
18, 2011. The 53-year-old Maine native will run the Boston Marathon for the
first time since 1993. Samuelson will start among the Elite Women at 9:32
a.m. ET and which will include approximately 67 of the race's top female
marathoners.
Samuelson won the 1979 Boston Marathon in an American Record time of
2:35:15, and she established a world record at the 1983 Boston Marathon in
2:22:43. Her performance from 1983 remains the fourth fastest time in
Boston Marathon history.
"Joan is a running legend and perhaps the greatest marathoner the United
States has ever produced," said B.A.A. Executive Director Tom Grilk. "Any
time she races, she adds to her legacy. We are pleased that spectators
along the course, those watching on television, and those following online
will have an additional element of attraction."
Samuelson has stated that she may pursue at the Boston Marathon the 2012
U.S. Olympic Trials – Women's Marathon qualifying time of 2:46:00.
"Boston is special race for me," said Samuelson. "The crowds know and
appreciate the athletes competing and their accomplishments, and they never
disappoint with their encouragement and enthusiasm. I look forward to
experiencing their energy and excitement on Patriots' Day."
When she won in 1979, she was 21-year-old student Joan Benoit from Bowdoin
College. She went on to win the inaugural gold medal in the women's Olympic
Marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Over time and following her Olympic
victory, she became an icon of the sport and one of its most recognizable
names.
Samuelson is one of only four Boston Marathon champions to have also won
gold in the Olympic Marathon. Gelindo Bordin, of Italy; Rosa Mota, of
Portugal; and Fatuma Roba, of Ethiopia, are the others.
Also, the B.A.A. announced that four-time champion Bill Rodgers – another
marathon legend – will serve as the grand marshal of the 2011 Boston
Marathon. He will ride in a Nissan pace car ahead of the lead runners, and
the car will be identified with his name and accomplishment. The B.A.A.
has reserved the grand marshal role as a position of recognition and honor.
Spectators along the course gather early along the 26.2 mile route to greet
the grand marshal as the vehicle makes its way from Hopkinton to Boston,
heralding that thousands of running will soon be coming. Rodgers won the
Boston Marathon in 1975 and in three consecutive years from 1978 through
1980. He last ran the Boston Marathon in 2009, completing the course in
4:06:49 at age 61.
Samuelson and Rodgers are members of the John Hancock Elite Athlete
Program, part of John Hancock's principal sponsorship of the Boston
Marathon which is now in its 26th year.
In addition, champions Ron Hill of Great Britain (1970), Alvaro Mejia of
Colombia (1971), Rob de Castella of Australia (1986), and Jean Driscoll of
the USA (1990-96, 2000) are among others who will be honored at the annual
Champions' Breakfast on Saturday, April 16 and throughout the weekend.
###
|
