Very few people outside of the track world in the USA know who she is either.
Newsflash! No one outside the track world in the USA know who ANY of the top runners are.
eh, I am just gauging this based off my wife, but she is not a runner or in the track space but seems to know Molly Seidel, Kara Goucher, and a few others. I would say Molly Seidel is probably the answer at this point.
Francie was an amazingly tough dedicated runner, but what I loved about her was her big heart: she never forgot people who supported her or touched her life. She once came up to me at the trial in Eugene and greeted me warmly, although I had only been a newly assistant coach who I not monitored some workouts she did with our top boys, at a high school where, although a student there, she trained and competed with a private club. Gracious and ferocious on the track.
When I lived in Georgetown, Texas in the 1990s and 2000s, I was running a popular trail/park. After we finished, along came Coach Larrieu and her Southwestern University runners. I immediately recognized her and she was very approachable. Growing up running in the 1970s and 1980s, I definitely knew who she was. She was so humble and cool to talk to.
I think Boerne, TX sophomore Elizabeth Leachman just said "Hold my beer, it's track season 2024!
Yes, Leachman has been running great. But being the "it girl" is not only about fast times. And "Ritzenhein" is by far the most famous name in high school girls distance running right now.