one 4 the ladies - video of 1984 womens marathon US Olympic trials

Gee, and I thought Bob Sevene coached Joanie. Who knew it was Lynn Petronella, whose world class marathoning exploits were cut short by an Olympic boycott. I wonder if anyone told her the 1980 Olympics didn't have an women's marathon anyway.

you guys have gotta see this!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D7xbCHT4X4

Thanks so much for putting this on!!! This is the reason I started running in 1984 and have not stopped after 28 marathons-Joan Benoit inspired so many women of my generation to believe we could get off our butts and run 26.2 miles. It wasn't that long ago ladies that the marathon was considered too strenuous for women and we were not allowed to participate.

Thanks for sharing this!

BUMP!!!!!

Spitting out babies is an athletic achievement? I thought it was simply biological.

Love how the Arizona Midday graphics guy spelled it "Ahtlettes"

2:54 would have won an Olympic gold medal? Uh, when was the last time any major marathon had a women's CR that slow??

Will there be silver medals for all the apparently lesser women who don't have children?

This woman is bizarre!

Where is there any proof she was a world-class runner?

Where is there any proof she coached Joan Benoit?

She claims she was a leading contender for the 1980 Olympic Marathon until Jimmy Carter's boycott - there was no Olympic Marathon for women until 1984.

She suggests she was a 2:54 maarathoner and that time would have given her a good chance at an Olympic Gold Medal. Where is the proof she ran 2:54? In what world was a 2:54 marathon an outstanding time in 1980?

I suspect the IOC and the USOC may have a little problem with her program to hand out "Olympic Gold Medals".

Maybe it's true...anyone from the era verify??

Track and Field News discussion had some back and forth, and I think we had a whiff over here too. I believe our good contributor Winturtle was the gumshoe on this story, but it got shut down on both boards.

CaptainTrack wrote:

Maybe it's true...anyone from the era verify??

Why was it shut down??

"Athlette"? What a stupid term. Try again, lady.

Canada76 wrote:

She suggests she was a 2:54 marathoner and that time would have given her a good chance at an Olympic Gold Medal. Where is the proof she ran 2:54? In what world was a 2:54 marathon an outstanding time in 1980?

In 1979 I coached an American collegian to a 2:52. Her time put her almost exactly 50th on that year's American performance list.

On other words, the 2:54 woman's performance was not truly competitive *nationally* in the US at that time. It certainly wasn't a world beater.

Did she coach Benoit??

HEY THAT'S WINETURTLES BEST BUDDY!

I was around and running at that time and never heard of this person. And no, 2:54 was not a particularly excellent time back then ....certainly not world class

I agree that 2:54 was not even close to a national class time in 1980. But, once again, where is there any proof that she ever ran a 2:54? Her other claims suggest that (she coached Benoit, she was a contender for the 1980 Olympic Marathon team - which, of course, is just idiotic because the first Olympic marathon for women was in 1984, a 2:54 would have won the Olympic Marathon) we should verify anything she says.