Who is Joan Benoit? All about the former runner who was the first woman to win a marathon gold medal at the Olympics

Joan Benoit is a former American marathon runner who has won numerous World Marathon major events across her illustrious career. During her time as one of the most prominent marathon runners in the circuit, Benoit was the first women's marathoner to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Benoit's most prized victory of her career came during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she clocked a run time of 2:24:52 to win the event. Her Norwegian rival Grete Waitz and Portugal's Rosa Mata finished second and third in the event with run times of 2:26:18 and 2:26:57 respectively.

On this note, let's know more about this legendary marathon runner from the United States, Joan Benoit.

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Joan Benoit: Family and hometown

Benoit during the NYC Marathon Hall of Fame induction (Image via: Getty)

Benoit was born in the town of Cape Elizabeth located in Maine, United States on May 16, 1957. Her family includes her parents- Andre Benoit and Nancy Benoit, and three brothers.

Joan Benoit: Educational details

Benoit completed her education at the Bowdoin College and the North Carolina State University. During her time in these institutions, Benoit also competed for their track and field teams, and owing to her excellent performance in the discipline for her collegiate side, she was facilitated with the Broderick Award in 1979.

Joan Benoit: Achievements across her decorated career

Benoit during a press conference at the 2023 Boston Marathon (Image via: Getty)

Across Benoit's decade-long career, the Maine native produced numerous impressive performances.

Besides her historical victory at the Olympic Games, Benoit's performances at the World Marathon Major events are no less formidable. She won the prestigious Boston Marathon event two times in her career (1979 and 1983) and finished third once in 1981. Benoit also clinched victories at the 1985 Chicago Marathon (run time of 2:21:21), Auckland Marathon (2:31:23), and the NIKE OTC Marathon (2:26:12).

During Benoit's 1983 Boston Marathon victory she clocked a run time of 2;22:43 which was a women's marathon world record then. She also produced impressive outings in the half-marathon discipline and also held the world record run time of 1:08:34 that she registered at Philadelphia in 1984.

Besides these performances in the marathon events, Benoit also won a gold medal in the 3000m sprint at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas. For these amazing performances across her career, Benoit was inducted into the USATF (United States Track and Field) Hall of Fame in 2014.