Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

02:00 PM-06:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Golf

From the Off The Ball Archives ... Kathrine Switzer recalls the infamous 1967 Boston Marathon

It's April 19th 1967 in Boston and runners are taking part in the marathon when this happens: "At...



From the Off The Ball Archives...
Golf

From the Off The Ball Archives ... Kathrine Switzer recalls the infamous 1967 Boston Marathon

It's April 19th 1967 in Boston and runners are taking part in the marathon when this happens:

"At two miles, the press truck came by us when the co-race director lost his temper - he was getting teased by the journalists on the truck, totally unbeknownst to us about a girl being in his race - and he jumped off the bus and came up behind me, running very fast. I didn't see him. I only heard him at the last minute. He just grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me back and said 'get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!'" 

Fifty-nine years ago today, Kathrine Switzer became the first female competitor to enter and complete the Boston Marathon - although she was unfortunately disqualified in the aftermath. But that race was infamous for other reasons.

Kathrine faced opposition from some quarters due to her gender and during her run a race official even tried to remove her from the race physically.

Her perseverance became a landmark moment in the battle for women's rights and it was something Kathrine looked back on with Off The Ball's Joe Molloy in an in-depth interview in November 2014, which you can listen back to below.

"First of all, I didn't think it would be a symbolic move for women's rights at all. I don't think I was that mature. I'd just turned 20. I was proud of myself and in my heart, I really loved running," she said of entering the 1967 marathon race.

Listen to the full interview via the podcast player where Kathrine also discusses the fallout: 

From the Off The Ball Archives ... Kathrine Switzer recalls the infamous 1967 Boston Marathon

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.