A day after winning the Boston Marathon women’s race, Atsede Baysa gave her trophy to Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to ever finish the marathon, in honor of her bravery and courage 50 years ago.
The Boston Marathon gender barrier fell 50 years ago, on April 19, 1966. That’s when Roberta Gibb, 23, crossed the finish line in 3 hours 21 minutes 40 seconds — in front of more than two-thirds of the male runners that day. To honor her breakthrough, Boston Marathon organizers have named Gibb, who is known as Bobbi, grand marshal of this year’s race.
Two months before the 1966 marathon, Gibb had written race officials to request an entry form.
She received a curt reply: Sorry, we are an A.A.U. event, and A.A.U. regulations forbid women to compete in any race longer than 1.5 miles. Furthermore, “women are physiologically incapable of running 26.2 miles.”
Boston didn’t allow women to run officially until 1972, when Long Island’s Nina Kuscsik became the first official women’s champion.
Gibb said she would keep the trophy for a year, and then bring it to Baysa in her native Ethiopia.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/04/1...to-bobbi-gibb/
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/sp...ml?src=mv&_r=0