Speedy Facts About Fast Women
Check out these facts about some of the fastest women in history.
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1982-1985: Mary Decker Slaney held the American record in every distance from the 800 to 10,000 meters at some point during these years!
78 runners finished the first women-only race, New York’s Crazylegs Mini Marathon, in 1972.
16: Wilma Rudolph‘s age when she won bronze in the sprint relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
The custom Nike Daybreak racing flat (above) was designed for superstar athlete Joan Benoit Samuelson. This pair carried her through the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon in 1984, where she ran to victory.
$1.00: The registration fee of the New York City Marathon in 1972. (It’s now $255!)
57% of finishers at running events were women in 2013.
At the 2014 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon, 91-year-old Harriette Thompson ran 7:07:42, setting an age-group world record. Amazing!
1959: The year Arlene Pieper ran the Pikes Peak Marathon, thereby becoming the first U.S. female to finish the distance in an official capacity.
The fastest marathon ever clocked by a female is 2:15:25. The UK’s Paula Radcliffe ran this insane time at the London Marathon in 2003. That’s 26.2 miles at a 5:09(!) pace.
The Guinness World Record for fastest female marathon in costume is 2:48:51, nabbed by Camille Herron— or Spider Woman, depending on how you look at it.
1:59.51: The fastest time ever run by a high school girl in the 800 meters. Mary Cain set this record in 2013 when she was only a junior—no wonder the speedster turned pro at 17!
23: Age of the youngest woman ever to finish the epically difficult Badwater 135 Ultramarathon.
The time between Amber Miller’s finish at the Chicago Marathon and the delivery of her baby girl was only 7 hours!