First Woman To Wear A Boston Bib Races Again, 50 Years Later

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Boston's top cop has completed his first marathon since the 2013 bombings.

"I really paid attention this time to where on the course Jock Semple attacked me", a smiling Kathrine Switzer, 70, said after running her ninth Boston Marathon, and first since 1976.

Discrimination against women in sports has obviously not vanished, but Switzer, Gibb, and other women who have been working to create more opportunities for women in sports have certainly helped make significant progress. American Jordon Hasay also made a splash as the first American woman to finish and third overall - despite it being her first marathon.

She ran it in lipstick and earrings, despite being advised no to by her teammates. "I was very proud of being a woman".

She was right to use caution, since at the time some people weren't thrilled that a woman was officially a part of the famous 26.2-mile race.

Image: Apr 17, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Galen Rupp runs in the lead pack during the 2017 Boston Marathon.

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Her boyfriend, who was running with her, managed to shove the official out of the way and Ms Switzer kept running.

The pair practiced together and when Switzer sailed past the finish line of a 26-mile run easily and made a decision to tack on an extra five miles for good measure, she proved to her coach she was ready.

"A big man, a huge man, with bared teeth was set to pounce, and before I could react he grabbed my shoulder and flung me back, screaming, "Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!" She dodged attempts to remove her from the course and finished the race in 4 hours, 20 minutes. She hid her gender and registered as "K.V. Switzer". But nearly all sports were for men; women rarely participated.

Ms Switzer went on to campaign for women's running and was pivotal in gaining the introduction of the women's marathon to the 1984 Olympic games.

He had just completed the Boston Marathon in 2013 when two pressure cooker bombs detonated near the finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. Her courage proved that nothing is impossible and that all barriers are worth breaking down.

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