Switzer” - there was no spot on the form for gender - and received an official bib race director Jock Semple was so irate that he tried to shove her off the course. A year later, Kathrine Switzer signed up as “K.V. Leading the men’s field is defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya, who in October won the first fall Boston Marathon ever after the 2020 race was canceled by the pandemic and the ’21 version was put off six months.īut this year, the attention is on the 50th anniversary of the first women’s race, a milestone that is complicated by the thorny history of the distaff division.Īlthough women weren’t welcome until 1972, Bobbi Gibb is acknowledged as the first woman to run Boston, finishing it in 1966 among the unofficial runners known as bandits. “It’s always fun to get to the race and just know that you’re up against the best in the world.” I mean, like, that fires me up so much, just knowing the high level of competition we’re going to have here,” said Tokyo bronze medalist Molly Seidel, who along with Linden is one of the top American contenders. The quasi anniversary will be marked by one of the strongest women’s fields ever, with reigning Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir, London and New York winner Joyciline Jepkosgei, and Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw all bringing personal bests under 2 hours, 18 minutes - two minutes faster than the Boston course record.
“But these guys stuck their neck out, and made it happen.”įifty years after eight women lined up alongside the men - the first official female entrants, but not the first ones to run the race - more than 12,000 women are entered in the Boston Marathon on Monday, when it returns to its traditional Patriots Day spot in the schedule for the first time since 2019. I’m not sure I would have been,” said Linden, who herself overcame some of the worst weather in the race's history to win in 2018. “I think about it, if I would be brave enough to do that. The first women who dared to attempt the 26.2-mile run from Hopkinton to Boston’s Back Bay faced sneers and catcalls, administrative roadblocks and even physical violence from an organization originally formed to encourage the pursuit of “manly sports.” BOSTON (AP) - Compared to what her predecessors faced a half-century before, an icy downpour and a near-gale headwind were minor obstacles for Des Linden on her way to a Boston Marathon victory.
0 kommentar(er)
