Kathrine Virginia Switzer is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator. In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. During her run, race manager Jock Semple repeatedly assaulted Switzer trying to grab her bib number and stop her competing. After knocking down Switzer's trainer and fellow runner Arnie Briggs when he tried to protect her, Semple was shoved to the ground by Switzer's boyfriend, Thomas Miller, who was running with her, and she completed the race. Women were banned from competing in races against men as a result of her run, and it was not until 1972 that the Boston Marathon established an official women's race.
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About Kathrine Switzer
Notable for her 2007 memoir Marathon Woman, Switzer rose to fame in 1967 as the first registered female runner in the Boston Marathon. Because women were, at the time, not allowed to compete in the race, she secured entry by signing up under the name "K.V. Switzer."
Before Fame
She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Syracuse University.
Achievement
In 1974, she was the fastest woman in the New York City Marathon, finishing the race in three hours, seven minutes, and twenty-nine seconds.
Family Life
Born to a military family living in Germany, she relocated to her parents' native United States at the age of two and spent her high school years in Northern Virginia. Her first marriage was to Tom Miller (who ran alongside her in the 1967 Boston Marathon); she later married fellow writer and marathon runner Roger Robinson.
Associations
Switzer paved the way for fellow female runner Catherine Ndereba, who won the 2000 Boston marathon and went on to earn silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Information related to Kathrine Switzer
- New York City Marathon female winners
- Boston Marathon
- Sports Emmy Award winners
- American female long-distance runners
