Joan Benoit Samuelson
Freeport, Maine
Joan Benoit Samuelson is a hero and role model for women everywhere, but particularly here in Maine. As Maine's first female athlete to achieve world renown, she has paved the way for other young Maine women to pursue their dreams, push themselves further, to not give up. Joan Benoit Samuelson has generously shared her experience and advice through her books, Running Tide and Running for Women, and by giving running clinics, coaching women's cross-country and long-distance running, working as a sports commentator and a motivational speaker.
The eyes of the world were watching Joan Benoit when she won the first ever women's Olympic Marathon on August 5, 1984. Born in Maine in 1957, she was the only female student in her high school to run cross-country. In her junior year, as a way of reconditioning herself after she broke her leg in a skiing accident, she began to run more often and to run greater distances.
While a senior at Bowdoin College, Benoit entered the 1979 Boston Marathon as a virtual unknown and won, setting a record for American women. Following surgery on her Achilles tendons, she again won the Boston Marathon in 1983. In May 1984, she won the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon, only 17 days after arthroscopic knee surgery. Norway's Grete Waitz was favored to win the gold medal in 1984, but Benoit surged ahead only three miles into the race and completed the race one and a half minutes in the lead. Twelve years and two children later, Joan qualified for the 1996 Olympic Trials Marathon. She has a long list of victories, has set many records, and is still competing.
Joan has worked tirelessly in Maine on behalf of the Samantha Smith Foundation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics, Multiple Sclerosis, the Maine Women's Fund, and the Governor's Executive Council on Communities for Children. In 1998 she put Maine on the road race map by establishing a world-class road race in Cape Elizabeth to benefit children's charities in Maine.
Studies show that participation in sports by young women significantly improves self-esteem and enhances the chances of success in all areas of life. When Joan began adolescence, only 1 in 27 girls in Maine participated in competitive high school sports. Today that ratio is 1 in 3. Part of this increase is due to the culture change brought about by having female sports heroes and role models like Joan Benoit Samuelson.
Joan Benoit Samuelson's persistence and endurance will long inspire increased self-confidence in Maine women, reinforcing the knowledge that Maine women are tough-they can compete, go the distance, and achieve great things.
As Joan continues to pursue her goals we celebrate her enthusiasm and spirit, and the spirit and potential of all Maine women, by recognition of Joan Benoit Samuelson's place in the Maine Women's Hall of Fame.
Inducted March 2000