Famed long distance runner Joan Benoit Samuelson '79 will be inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame on December 3.

The news came as a surprise to Samuelson, who insisted, "It has never crossed my mind that I'd be elected to the Hall of Fame."

Although Samuelson is perhaps best known for capturing the gold medal in the first-ever women's Olympic Marathon at the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, her running career was well on its way while she was still a student at Bowdoin.

Always an excellent athlete at Bowdoin, Samuelson played field hockey, in addition to running track and cross country. She quit field hockey after being benched by her coach for showing up for practice sore from a 13 mile run. This additional time allowed her to focus even more intensely on her running career.

Samuelson was a four-time All American, and managed to win the first of her two Boston Marathon victories while still balancing a course load at Bowdoin.

Upon leaving Bowdoin she held regional records in the 1,500 and 3,000 meter races. She also held the U.S. women's record for the 10,000 meter race.

Her most memorable performance was in the 1984 Olympics, in which she won gold for the United States, running the marathon in a remarkable 2:24:52. The time was at that point the third fastest time in which a woman had ever run a marathon. The surprise was only compounded by the fact that she had recently undergone knee surgery. Samuelson had, in fact, ran some of the first marathons ever in which a women broke 2:30:00 in Boston. In addition, Samuelson has held both U.S. and world records in the marathon.

At Bowdoin, Samuelson was a double major in environmental studies and history. In addition to her involvement in athletics, she was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity/sorority which occupied what is now the admissions office.

Samuelson will enter the hall with an outstanding class of recipients. Other modern athletes included in this year's Hall of Fame induction include the long-jumper and triple-jumper Michael Conley, three-time gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Michael Johnson, who holds world records in both the 200 and the 400 meter race.

This will not be the first award for Samuelson. In 1984, she was presented with the Jesse Owens Award, and later earned the Sullivan award in 1985 for the top U.S. amateur athlete. In 1999, she was inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame along with Gerald Ford and Plato.

Samuelson now lives in Freeport, where she works as a consultant. She is married to her former Bowdoin sweetheart Scott Samuelson, a fellow DKE and member of the Bowdoin Men's track team.