Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. She won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Her other marathon victories included winning the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986. She was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is a retired American marathon runner who was the first-ever women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and thus setting the existing women’s American record in the Olympic Marathon. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, GCIH, GCM is a Portuguese former marathon runner, one of her country's foremost athletes, being the first sportswoman from Portugal to win Olympic gold. Mota was the first woman to win multiple Olympic marathon medals as well as being the only woman to be the reigning European, World, and Olympic champion at the same time. On the 30th Anniversary Gala of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) she was distinguished as the greatest female marathon runner of all time.
Rosie Ruiz Vivas is a Cuban American who was declared the winner in the female category for the 84th Boston Marathon in 1980, only to have her title stripped eight days after the race when it was discovered that she had not run the entire course. She is believed to have jumped onto the course about a half-mile before the finish.
Ejegayehu Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Maria Manuela Machado is a former Portuguese long-distance runner, who was particularly successful when running the marathon. Unlike many other marathoners, she did not focus on running city marathons that would have earned her lots of money. Instead, she participated in major competitions.
Lorraine Mary Moller is a former athlete from New Zealand, who competed in track athletics and later specialised in the marathon. Moller's international career lasted over 20 years and included winning a silver medal in the marathon at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona at the age of 37. A four-time Olympian, she also completed the marathon at the 1984, 1988 and 1996 games. Her other marathon victories included the 1984 Boston Marathon and being a three-time winner (1986,87,89) of the Osaka International Ladies Marathon.
Alevtina Biktimirova is a Russian long-distance runner, who specialises in the marathon.
Michiko "Miki" Suwa Gorman was an American marathoner of Japanese ancestry. Gorman did not begin running competitively until she was in her mid 30s, but rapidly emerged as one of the elite marathoning women of the mid-1970s. She is the only woman to win both the Boston and New York City marathons twice and is the first of only two woman runners to win both marathons in the same year.
Carolina ("Carla") Alwina Hubertina Beurskens was one of Holland's most prominent female long-distance runners from the second half of the 1970s until well into the 1990s, including all distances from 3000 metres to the marathon. During the greater part of this period she was most successful at the longer distance.
Laura Fogli is an Italian former long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon race. She finished ninth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and sixth at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She also won silver medals at the European Championships in 1982 and 1986, and finished second in the New York City Marathon in 1983 and 1988. Her marathon victories include Rome (1982) and Pittsburgh (1986).
Kathrine Virginia "Kathy" Switzer is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator.
Yelena Sipatova is a retired long-distance runner from the Soviet Union, and a former winner of the Rome City Marathon (1995).
Priscilla June Welch is a British retired marathon runner. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:54 when finishing sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 2:26:51 when finishing second at the 1987 London Marathon. The latter time stood as the W40 World Masters record for over 20 years. She also won the 1987 New York City Marathon.
Nanae Nagata, born as Nanae Sasaki, was a Japanese long-distance runner.
Joyce Esther SmithMBE is a British former long-distance runner. She broke the world record in the 3000 metres in 1971 and is a three-time medallist at the International/World Cross Country Championships, including winning in 1972. She went on to twice win the London Marathon, becoming the first British woman in history to run under 2:30 when winning in 1981 with 2:29:57, before further improving the British record to 2:29:43 when winning in 1982. She also competed in the 1500 metres at the 1972 Munich Olympics and finished 11th in the marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, aged 46.
Nancy Jane Ditz is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Ditz competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Cathy Schiro O'Brien is a retired female long-distance runner from the United States, a former Olympian and the national high school record holder in the marathon. She set her personal best (2:29:38) in the women's marathon in 1991 while winning the Los Angeles Marathon.
Winnie Lai Chu Ng is a Hong Kong long-distance runner. She competed in the women's marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics. She holds a personal best of 2:42:38 hours for the marathon, set in 1984.
Yelena Tsukhlo is a Belarusian female former long-distance runner who competes in marathons.
