1987 World Championships in Athletics – Women's marathon

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Women's marathon
at the 1987 World Championships
Venue Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Date29 August 1987
Competitors42 from 27 nations
Winning time2:25:17
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg   Rosa Mota  Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
Silver medal icon.svg   Zoya Ivanova  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Bronze medal icon.svg   Jocelyne Villeton  Flag of France.svg  France
←  1983
1991  →

The women's marathon was one of the road events at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome, Italy. It took place on 29 August 1987; the course started and finished at the Stadio Olimpico and passed several of Rome's historic landmarks. The race was won by Portugal's Rosa Mota in 2:25:17, a new championship record, ahead of Zoya Ivanova of the Soviet Union in second and France's Jocelyne Villeton in third.

Contents

In warm conditions, the pre-race favourite, Mota, led from the start. Another of the runners expected to do well, Australia's Lisa Martin, was suffering from fatigue after working too hard in training, and she pulled out of the race after 25 kilometres (16 mi). Mota won the race by almost seven and a half minutes, but did not initially realise that she had finished the race, as she thought she still had to run another lap of the track in the stadium.

Background

The race started and finished at the Stadio Olimpico, and largely stayed within the area of central Rome enclosed by the Aurelian Walls. It skirted around the lower edges of three of the seven hills of Rome without climbing any of them, and passed several ancient landmarks, including the Colosseum, the Baths of Caracalla and St. Peter's Square. [1] [2] Part of the course ran along cobbled streets, which along with the warm temperatures forecast, led to expectations that there would not be fast times in the race. [3]

Several of the world's quickest female marathoners were absent from the race. [4] Ingrid Kristiansen, who was the world record holder, having run the 1985 London Marathon in 2:21:06, opted to run the 10,000 metres instead. [2] Joan Benoit, the Olympic champion, was also missing, as she was pregnant. Grete Waitz, the reigning world champion suffered a suspected stress fracture in her foot after running a 5,000-metre time-trial on 15 August, and although she travelled to Rome and considered running with painkillers, she decided not to take the risk, and withdrew. In their absence, the favourites were Rosa Mota of Portugal and Australia's Lisa Martin. [2] [4] Mota was a two-time European champion, and the third quickest female marathoner, while Martin had run the fifth fastest women's marathon time. [2] Both came into the Championships in less than ideal situations: Mota had been suffering from a urinary tract infection, while training in Florida, Martin had overtrained in hot conditions. [4]

Summary

The race started at 16:55 local time on 29 August 1987, the opening day of the Championships, [5] in temperatures of around 27 °C (80 °F). Mota took the lead before the marathon left the stadium, and extended it as the race progressed. She completed the first half of the marathon in 1:12:10, and won by over seven minutes. [3] When she crossed the finish line, in 2:25:17, she continued running, as she thought she had another lap to complete. It was only when a race official flagged her down 30 metres (98 ft) into her second lap, telling her that she had finished, that she stopped. She blamed her mistake on the instructions she had received before the race: "an official told me I had to take two loops of the track". [6] Mota's time was a new championship record, beating the 2:28:09 set by Grete Waitz at the 1983 marathon. [3]

Martin, who was expected to be the most likely to challenge Mota in the race withdrew after 25 kilometres (16 mi); she was falling back down the field, and her whole body felt sore. She blamed it residual fatigue from the problems she had suffered during training in Florida. [7] Martin was one of nine runners to pull out of the race. [8] Zoya Ivanova of the Soviet Union finished in second, in 2:32:38, while France's Jocelyne Villeton claimed bronze, in 2:32:53. [3]

Aftermath

At the 1988 Olympics, Mota beat Martin by 13 seconds and became the only woman to be the reigning European, World, and Olympic champion simultaneously. [9]

Results

Results [8]
RankNameNationalityTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Rosa Mota Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal  (POR)2:25:17 CR
Silver medal icon.svg Zoya Ivanova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union  (URS)2:32:38
Bronze medal icon.svg Jocelyne Villeton Flag of France.svg  France  (FRA)2:32:53
4 Bente Moe Flag of Norway.svg  Norway  (NOR)2:33:21
5 Yelena Tsukhlo Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union  (URS)2:33:55
6 Yekaterina Khramenkova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union  (URS)2:34:23
7 Nancy Ditz Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)2:34:54
8 Sinikka Keskitalo Flag of Finland.svg  Finland  (FIN)2:35:16
9 Karolina Szabo Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary  (HUN)2:36:18
10 Miyuki Yamashita Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)2:36:55
11 Angie Pain Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain & N.I.  (GBR)2:38:12
12 Antonella Bizioli Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)2:38:52
13 Mercedes Calleja Flag of Spain.svg  Spain  (ESP)2:38:58
14 Uta Pippig Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany  (GDR)2:39:30
15 Agnes Pardaens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium  (BEL)2:39:52
16 Odette Lapierre Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)2:40:20
17 Paula Fudge Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain & N.I.  (GBR)2:42:42
18 Genoveva Eichenmann Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland  (SUI)2:43:07
19 Maria Luisa Irizar Flag of Spain.svg  Spain  (ESP)2:43:54
20 Emma Scaunich Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)2:44:32
21 Evy Palm Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)2:44:41
22 Veronique Marot Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain & N.I.  (GBR)2:45:02
23 Gabriela Wolf Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany  (FRG)2:45:13
24 Christine Kennedy Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland  (IRL)2:45:47
25 Hazel Stewart Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand  (NZL)2:48:41
26 Eriko Asai Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)2:48:44
27 Marcianne Mukamurenzi Flag of Rwanda (1962-2001).svg  Rwanda  (RWA)2:49:38 NR
28 Rita Borralho Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal  (POR)2:52:26
29 Dorothy Goertzen Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)2:53:11
30 Cornelia Melis Flag of Aruba.svg  Aruba  (ARU)2:59:31
31 Gina Coello Flag of Honduras (before 2022).svg  Honduras  (HON)3:01:53 NR
32 Maria del Pilar Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala  (GUA)3:16:20
33 Julie Ogborn Flag of Guam.svg  Guam  (GUM)3:50:56
Cathy Twomey Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA) DNF
Lisa Martin Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
Renata Kokowska Flag of Poland.svg  Poland  (POL)
Kim Jones Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Maria Rebelo Flag of France.svg  France  (FRA)
Rita Marchisio Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)
Monika Schäfer Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany  (FRG)
Angélica de Almeida Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil  (BRA)
Susan Stone Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Keating, Frank (31 August 1987). "The buzzing bee pins butterfly to his blocks". The Guardian . p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dorr, Dave (29 August 1987). "They're Off and Running in Rome". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Concannon, Joe (30 August 1987). "Mota breezes in marathon". The Boston Globe . p. 61 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Hersh, Phil (27 August 1987). "Waitz builds up to a painful letdown". Chicago Tribune . p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Full programme for Rome". The Times . 29 August 1987. p. 39 – via Gale.
  6. ↑ Oberjuerge, Paul (30 August 1987). "U.S. pickings sparse in Rome meet". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett News Service. p. C-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Grant, Trevor (31 August 1987). "Seeds of doubt give Martin sleepless night". The Age . p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Marathon women: 2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics". World Athletics . Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Hewitt, Phil (2016). In the Running: Tales of Extraordinary Runners. Chichester, West Sussex: Summerdale. pp. 158–159. ISBN   978-1-84953-886-2.
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