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Spotlight: Lynn Jennings, Marathon
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Posted: Friday April 09, 1999 12:27 PM
Jennings braved the
elements to win the 1992 World Cross Country Championships. |
Born: July 1, 1960, Harvard, Mass.
Residence: Newmarket, N.H.
Upcoming Event: 103rd Boston Marathon, Monday, April 19
Worth Watching Because: No other woman will be as closely scrutinized in this year's race. After spending a quarter century establishing herself as one of America's all-time great female distance runners, this Beantown hero is making her official marathon debut at the age of 38. Unofficially, though, Jennings has run Boston before.
In 1978, at age 17, Jennings started the Boston Marathon without a number because she was a year too young to enter officially. Running with the leaders for much of the race, Jennings reached the finish line in approximately 2:46. She would have placed third had she met the minimum age requirement. Despite her impressive performance, Jennings learned after the race that age restrictions are placed on marathon runners for a reason. She began to experience pain in her left knee, which turned out to be symptoms of a torn meniscus, and had to have arthroscopic surgery.
After failing to make the Olympic team in 1984, the 24-year-old Jennings realized that if she was going to make a name for herself among the running elite she would need to train more seriously. The following year she won her first national cross-country championship. She went on to win nine more national cross-country titles and three cross-country world championships. Jennings competed in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics. In '92 at Barcelona she set the current U.S. record in the first women's 10,000-meter race (31:19.89) and took home the bronze medal. She also holds the U.S. 8K and 10K road records. In April Jennings just might add a Boston Marathon win to her long list of achievements.
Greatest Success: Winning the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1992 Olympics.
Quote/Unquote: "The freedom of cross country is so primitive. It's woman versus nature."
Cool Fact: As a sophomore at the Bromfield School in Harvard, Mass., Jennings was the top runner on the boys cross-country team. By the end of the school year, Jennings, only 15, had qualified for the 1976 Olympic trials.
Come back soon for a new women's sports Spotlight.
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