New College of Florida: Joan Benoit Samuelson Lecture

Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson will give a talk at New College of Florida on Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00 pm. Her talk will take place in the College Hall Music Room on the Colleges bayfront campus. Then, she will lead a fun run on Wednesday, May 13 at 9:00 am starting at Hamilton Center, the Colleges student union, located off General Spaatz Boulevard, just east of U.S. 41 in Sarasota. Both events are free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Sociology Department, Division of Social Sciences, Student Allocation Committee, Student Affairs, Gender Studies Program and the Gender and Diversity Center.

Joan Benoit SamulesonBenoit Samuelson is perhaps the most recognized female athlete in the history of U.S. distance running. As a college senior, she broke the womens course record for the Boston Marathon in 1979, shattering the previous course record by 8 minutes. In 1983, she again broke the course record for the historic New England race, this time establishing a new world record as well, by running the 26.2-mile marathon distance in 2:22.43.

Ground-breaking Female Marathon Matriarch * Pioneer in bringing acceptance to womens distance running * 1st womens Olympic marathon champion at 84 Los Angeles, 17 days after knee surgery. Only American woman to earn gold in marathon. * Winner of 79 Boston Marathon as unknown, college senior. Broke marathons record by 8 minutes. * Winner 85 Chicago Marathon, setting new American record. * 1985 James E. Sullivan Award for top U.S. amateur athlete. * USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, National Distance Running Hall of Fame, International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Hall of Fame, and the International Womens Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. * Author of Running Tide and Running for Women. * Founder of Beach to Beacon road race in Maine. * At 2008 Olympic trials, set new U.S. record for 50+ age group. * B.A. in environmental studies & history, Bowdoin College 79. * Featured in Olympic documentaries such as Americas Greatest Olympians and 16 Days of Glory.

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Education

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• Joan Benoit Samuelson
• New College of Florida