Kathrine Switzer (born January 5, 1947) is the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry. She entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. Her finishing time of approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes was nearly an hour behind the first female finisher, Bobbi Gibb.[1] She registered under the gender-neutral "K. V. Switzer". It was not done in an attempt to mislead the officials; she had long used "K. V. Switzer" to sign the articles she wrote for her college paper. Race official Jock Semple attempted to remove her from the race, and is noted to have shouted, "Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers." However, Switzer's boyfriend, who was running with her, shoved Semple aside and sent him flying. The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines.[2]
Switzer won the 1974 New York City Marathon, with a time of 3:07:29. Her personal best time for the marathon distance was 2:51:37, at Boston in 1975.[3]
References
- ^ Boston Marathon results
- ^ The Real Story of Kathrine Switzer's 1967 Boston Marathon-Life is For Participating
- ^ Switzer, Kathrine (2007). Marathon Woman. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-78671-967-9.
External links
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