Submitted by Maria Smithson
A reunion and celebration of the historic 1984 inaugural U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, held in Olympia, Washington forty-years ago, will be held May 16 through May 19, 2024.
Over 60 runners from the 1984 Trials will travel to Olympia next month, reuniting to commemorate that historic race, including the first Olympic Women’s Marathon Gold Medalist, U.S. runner Joan Benoit (Samuelson). Three public events commemorating the watershed 1984 race are being organized by the Olympia Trials Legacy Committee.
40th Anniversary Reunion and Celebration of Olympia’s Historic 1984 Inaugural U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials
Thursday, May 16th through Sunday, May 19th, 2024
PUBLIC EVENTS: Friday, May 17th, 4:30 p.m. Reception, 6 p.m. Dinner
40th Anniversary Celebration Banquet
Indian Summer Country Club
5900 Troon Lane SE, Olympia, WA 98501
Sponsored by the Olympia Trials Legacy Committee
Tickets available online.
Saturday, May 18, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Capitol City Marathon Expo and Meet & Greet with 1984 Athletes
Sylvester Park, 615 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA
Sunday, May 19, 7 a.m.
Capitol City Marathon
Sylvester Park, 615 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA
The first women’s Olympic marathon was a global historic moment in women’s athletics, and the U.S. Trials held in Olympia on May 12, 1984 were covered live by ABC Wide World of Sports. 267 women qualifed for the trials, with 238 starting and 196 runners finishing the race. Joan Benoit Samuelson, from Maine, was first across the finish line, just seventeen days following arthroscopic knee surgery, winning with a time of 2:31:04, followed by Julie Brown of Oregon and Julie Isphording of Ohio. Three months later, the three runners represented the United States in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games. Benoit went on to win the gold medal in that first Olympic Women’s Marathon with a time of 2:24:52.
In 1984, only 23% of athletes competing in the Los Angeles games were women. The 2024 Summer Olympics, to be held in Paris, will mark the first Olympic games to achieve full gender parity, with exactly 5250 women and 5250 men slated to compete.
