Chicago Marathon Legends Will Return For 2010 Race
25-years ago Joan Benoit Samuelson and Steve Jones almost did the unthinkable. During the 1985 Chicago Marathon, Benoit Samuelson and Jones nearly set world marathon records on the same day. The performances of both runners drew much attention to the race and ultimately started the Chicago Marathon down the path towards one of the most prestigious races in the world.
"The sport of marathon running does not have bigger legends than Joan Benoit Samuelson and Steve Jones," the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski said as he announced that both Benoit Samuelson and Jones would compete this year.
When Benoit Samuelson entered the Chicago Marathon back in 1985 she was already a national hero. Just a year earlier in the inaugural women's Marathon at the Olympic games, it was Benoit Samuelson, an American, who took home the first-ever gold medal of the event.
Jones' trip to the 1985 race was about regaining what he had established the year before. Jones' world record, set here in Chicago in 1984, had been broken by Portugal's Carlos Lopes. Jones was determined to put himself back on top, and the Welshman came about as close as he could without regaining the crown, missing the world record by one second.
In total Benoit Samuelson and Jones missed the world records by a combined 14 seconds. Their returns to the 2010 race will bring its proud history to the forefront.
