ATHLETE

Joan Benoit

1957 - Today

Photo of Joan Benoit

Icon of person Joan Benoit

Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman in that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in 29 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 28 in 2024). Joan Benoit is the 2,399th most popular athlete (up from 2,437th in 2024), the 12,779th most popular biography from United States (up from 12,908th in 2019) and the 421st most popular American Athlete.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Joan Benoit by language

Loading...

Among ATHLETES

Among athletes, Joan Benoit ranks 2,399 out of 6,025. Before her are Ion Draica, Yelena Yelesina, Mary Washburn, Nataliya Dobrynska, Aleksandr Kabanov, and Olena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova. After her are Barbara Krug, June Maston, Frode Andresen, Allyson Felix, Eshetu Tura, and Sydney McLaughlin.

Most Popular Athletes in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1957, Joan Benoit ranks 580. Before her are Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet, Alexander Beilinson, Mira Nair, Witold Waszczykowski, Plamen Markov, and Michael Foale. After her are Paweł Huelle, Dani Levy, Keena Rothhammer, Lyubov Gurina, Kazuhito Mochizuki, and Irina Nazarova.

Others Born in 1957

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, Joan Benoit ranks 12,783 out of 20,380. Before her are Benjamin Walker (1982), George Karl (1951), Jane Barkman (1951), William Bendix (1906), Zona Gale (1874), and Brian Kerwin (1949). After her are Charles Bulfinch (1763), Jamie Chung (1983), Michelle Lujan Grisham (1959), Maria Ewing (1950), Allyson Felix (1985), and Albert Hammond Jr. (1980).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among ATHLETES In United States

Among athletes born in United States, Joan Benoit ranks 421. Before her are William Steinkraus (1925), Katie Nageotte (1991), Gail Devers (1966), Madeline Manning (1948), Brian Lewis (1974), and Mary Washburn (1907). After her are Allyson Felix (1985), Sydney McLaughlin (1999), Steven López (1978), Shi Zhiyong (null), Peter Mueller (1954), and Rusty Wailes (1926).

American born Athletes

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous