Joan Benoit’s 1984 Olympic marathon is one of those performances that only gets better with time. Benoit became the first woman to win an Olympic marathon gold medal and created one of the most dramatic finishes in Olympic history.
On August 5, 1984, America’s Joan Benoit stood at the starting line in Los Angeles for the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon. The then-27-year-old athlete had undergone knee surgery just months before and had to fight her way onto the U.S. Olympic team. When the race began, Benoit employed a controversial strategy: She took the lead early and quickly distanced herself from the field.
@athletichybrid
She ran alone for 21 miles with history on her shoulders 1984: First time women were allowed to compete in an Olympic marathon. Joan Benoit made a bold early move and disappeared from the pack. She crossed the line and shattered a barrier that had existed since the Olympics began. One race. One woman. History made forever JoanBenoitSamuelson 1984Olympics WomensMarathon FirstEver Trailblazer WomenInSports OlympicHistory runner MarathonLegends
♬ original sound - athletichybrid - athletichybridFor 21 miles, Benoit ran alone, at one point building a 51-second lead. The gap between her and her biggest competition, including Norway’s stars Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen, continued to grow as both held back in the Los Angeles August heat and smog. At one point, Benoit’s lead over her rivals approached two minutes.
Benoit would later admit that even she doubted her bold strategy. Worried she might lead for much of the race only to get caught by the competition late, she questioned herself but continued to run at her own pace.
The race finished with a dramatic ending fit for a race taking place on the edges of Hollywood. After running 26 miles essentially alone, Benoit approached the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum still in the lead. The 77,000 spectators inside the Coliseum could see the American runner approaching the stadium’s entrance, but then she disappeared into the tunnel leading into the stadium.
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Joan Benoit Disappeared Into the Tunnel
For a painfully long few seconds, Benoit was completely out of sight, leaving the audience in the stadium and those watching from home unsure if she would emerge from the tunnel still in the lead.
Then Benoit emerged from the tunnel, still in front.
The crowd responded with an overwhelming roar as Joan Benoit entered the stadium, bounding toward Olympic history.
Benoit’s disappearance into the tunnel was brief in duration but seemingly endless for those waiting to see their hometown hero become the first-ever woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the marathon.
Benoit crossed the finish line in 2:24:52, winning the first women’s Olympic marathon and beating Waitz by a full 1 minute, 26 seconds.
Joan Benoit’s Gold Medal Was About More Than a Race
@growingbolderJoan Benoit Samuelson may be the most inspiring female distance runner ever. In 1984 she won gold in the first Women’s Marathon ever held at the Olympics. In 2019 at the age of 61, she completed the Boston Marathon within 30 minutes of her very first time, exactly forty years ago. Joan shares with Growing Bolder what she believes it takes to stay in the race at any age. Click the Link in Bio to watch our full story on the inspiring distance runner. #Marathon #Run #Runner #olympian #Lifeadvice
♬ The Champion - Lux-InspiraBenoit’s gold medal performance was about more than another Olympic victory. It was the first Olympic women’s marathon, won by an American at an Olympics hosted by America. It was also a major milestone for women’s sports.
For decades, women had been excluded from the Olympic marathon because of archaic beliefs that long-distance running was bad for women’s health. The 1984 Olympic marathon marked a major turning point for women’s sports, and Joan Benoit became the face of that change.
That’s what makes rewatching Benoit’s cinematic finish so powerful today. She wasn’t simply running toward a gold medal. Joan Benoit’s disappearance into the tunnel symbolized the race itself as she ran into a moment that had never existed before.
From Title IX in the early 1970s to women finally being included in the Olympic marathon in 1984, the era marked a time of momentum for women in sports, with Joan Benoit striking gold and becoming the enduring face of a movement.
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