#OnThisDay, 19 Apr 1967, Katherine Switzer becomes the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as a registered runner, despite the organiser physically trying to stop her.
@fedithom@CarveHerName
During her run, the race manager Jock Semple assaulted Switzer, trying to grab her bib number and thereby remove her from official competition. 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.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathrine_Switzer#:~:text=During%20her%20run,completed%20the%20race.
@fedithom@CarveHerName It's also notable that she and Jock Semple eventually became close friends after he changed his mind in regard to women in sports.
@fedithom@CarveHerName
Switzer wasn't the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon. She wasn't even the only woman in the 1967 run. Bobbi Gibb was in fact an hour faster than Switzer. And she had completed the same Marathon before. Gibb however ran as an unregistered runner without a number both times. http://runningpast.com/gibb_story.htm
@kolya@fedithom@CarveHerName I did not know that bit. I like hearing about instances when people change their minds for the better, it seems to happen far to rarely, and should be celebrated
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