she mustve had the biggest runners high ever, to come into a stadium with thousands of people cheering for you while you have one lap to go and nobody is even close to you. freaking awesome
I was 11 years old, sitting right below the Olympic Torch at this race. You have no idea how loud The Coliseum roared when she came out of the tunnel. It was epic.
Barely five feet tall. Weighed 100 pounds if she just ate breakfast. Had major knee surgery two weeks before trials. Maybe best you tube video ever. Should be required watching for any athlete.
I’m 67 and a marathon runner and remember watching this fantastic moment, but it just occurred to me after all these years that the marathon is the only Olympic event where you get to make a grand entrance into the stadium!
I was there! Joan was awesome but the person who made the headlines was Gabriela Andersen-Schiess of Switzerland who staggered around the last lap looking as if she might collapse and die. She placed 37th as it was important to just finish. On her final lap that might have lasted 15 mins they attempted to help but she brushed them off and finished on her own. Her picture made it to Sports Illustrated and all the major publications.
I remember us watching this on tv when I was 13 years old. We were still out of school for summer, but I am pretty sure it was weekend day as the whole family was eating together. I think it was breakfast. We had a tiny little tv that my dad had moved into the kitchen and set on the end of the counter/desk for the Olympics that year. The whole family...all seven of us..lingered a little longer at the table to watch this race and the conclusion. Great Olympic moment from my childhood.
I saw this televised live in 1984. Great moment is women's and US running. I wasnt thinking back then about how incredible a 3rd best marathon time was considering a summer marathon in LA. But back then the women' didnt compete in the marathon distance equally by gender as they do now.
O mais importante nessa maratona foi o que ocorreu com a sueca Gabrielle Andessen-Scheiss, que teve os movimentos do corpo afetados pelo calor e falta de hidratação, chegando ao estádio cambaleante, sem coordenação motora, mas com garra e determinação de alguém que queria cruzar a linha de chegada. É a cena mais emocionante de todas as Olimpíadas e merece a medalha Barão de Coupertain.
If memory serves me correct (I was only 16 at the time) no one had heard of her and wasn't even supposed to win. Some other American was favored. Joan Benoit came out of nowhere and won
It's called television for a reason...the announcers should have stayed silent from the time Benoit entered the stadium until she crossed the finish line...the moment and accomplishment spoke for themselves
