Joan pays homage to those women before her that made her win possible and gives us a run-through of that day back in 1984. Interviewed by Joan’s family friend, Sarah True, the duo discuss what it means to run your own race. Having come into the realm of sport at the exact time of the passing of Title IX, Joan reflects on what that did for her career – and how far we’ve come. Joan was the winner of the very first women’s Olympic Marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The final episode of our limited, and dear Title IX series! This week, we have one of our favorite athletes and mentors on the podcast – Joan Benoit Samuelson. And having met her, and having talked to her, and seeing what an incredible person she is, it’s really going to help me run my absolute best tomorrow.This is it, folks. Meeting her in person, it was a dream come true. So for that to actually happen this time makes me incredibly happy. “I’ve always thought to myself, over all the years, that some day if I get the chance, I’ll go run the Boston Marathon and if I’m really lucky, maybe I’ll get to meet Joan Benoit Samuelson there. “She’s the marathon runner who I admire the most,” Yugeta continued. “So that’s really going to help me tomorrow. “Shaking hands, I got some of her spirit,” Yugeta said. No matter the result, she’ll be buoyed by her meeting with the woman she has idolized for 38 years. “I’m aware the course has a lot of ups downs, it’s not the easiest course to run fast, but hopefully there will be a lot of people around me and that will help me at least go sub-3:00.” “My weak point is cold weather, so as it has turned colder, I’m a little bit nervous about how that’s going to go tomorrow,” she said through a translator, Brett Larner. Yugeta runs Boston on April 18, and she’s hoping for a time around 2:55. A translator stood by, and the pair talked about the inspiration they provide each other. Yugeta’s eyes filled with tears at finally meeting her idol. The two shook hands, while cameras flashed. On April 17, at a stage set up just beyond the Boston Marathon finish line, Yugeta met Benoit Samuelson. “She’s in another world from me, but I think we’d have a lot to talk about.” “If I run Boston I hope that I have the chance to introduce myself to Joan,” she said in the profile.
In a Runner’s World profile after that effort, Yugeta said she hoped to run the Boston Marathon for the first time.
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