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Kathy Switzer, first woman to run Boston Marathon in 1967
Published…
Kathy Switzer, first woman to run Boston Marathon in 1967
Published memoir Marathon Woman in 2009
Visual Map by Abigail West
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Kathy Switzer in one of her Grecian-esque race outfits
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Dianne Bondy, yoga teacher and activist for yoga for all bodies
Elite distance runner Allie Kieffer
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Brief History of Women in the Olympics
- 1900 - First women participated in the Olympics, in Paris, in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian and golf.
- 1928 - Women allowed to participate in running events, 800m the longest distance, because any longer was thought to be dangerous to female bodies. Several women were undertrained and collapsed, causing the women's 800m to be banned until 1960.
- 1960 - Reintroduction of women's 800m race.
- 1972 - The longest women's running race went up to 1500m. It was still common to think women could not safely run longer.
- 1972 - Women allowed to compete in Boston Marathon for the first time.
- 1984 - First Olympic women's marathon, thanks in large part to the work of Kathy Switzer and other pioneers.
Running to silver medal in 2017 AthHalf.I am able to compete for a gold medal in a culture that now considers there to be two races: the women's and the men's.
And yet, I still have to remind my women friends on a regular basis. Just the other day I proudly announced that my friend had won a marathon. Another friend didn't know before we told him. "You won?!" he said. She said, "Well, first female." Two of us piped up at the same time: "AND THAT IS WINNING."
There are still many women who forget this, and do not consider themselves worthy of that title for whatever reason. It is a continued fight for belief in women's abilities.
Me, Abigail West, running in the 2017 AthHalf Half Marathon.
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