If you're a fan of marathons and are of a certain age, chances are you'll remember the 1980 Boston Marathon. It was in that marathon that an unknown woman seemed to appear out of nowhere to be the first woman of the race to cross the finish line. That woman was Rosie Ruiz. Who was she? How did she win? Did she cheat? The Game Show Network's new documentary series, Anything to Win, is scheduled to debut Jan. 10 with the premier episode, "Rosie Ruiz and the Boston Marathon Scandal."
As someone who is not a fan of marathons, I had never heard of this particular scandal. "Rosie Ruiz and the Boston Marathon Scandal" is a fascinating documentary, and Rosie Ruiz herself speaks out for the first time in 25 years to proclaim her innocence.
The 1980 Boston Marathon was held on April 12, 1980. The expected winner in the women's division was Canadian runner Jacqueline Gareau.
At the 2:31:56 mark, instead of Gareau, a young woman sprinted across the finish line. That woman was 26-year-old Rosie Ruiz. Ruiz's win came as something of a shock to the reporters and race officials on hand, as she seemed to just materialize out of thin air.
(Rosie Ruiz after "winning" the 1980 Boston Marathon)
Anything to Win interviews reporters, race officials, as well as the men's champion in 1980, Bill Rodgers, and Jacqueline Gareau. The consensus with these folks is that Ruiz definitely cheated, despite any hard evidence that she did. Even now, 25 years later, the belief is that Ruiz cheated — that she jumped into the race about a mile before the finish line. The documentary suggests that Ruiz did not intend to win, but rather had jumped in too soon, ahead of any female runner, and in doing so crossed first by mistake.
Article comments
1 - Larry R.Gibson
I was there and ran the race in 3:14. I had been running less than two years and was 42 years old. A year and a half later I set my "PR" (personal record)of 2:59 but "Boston" is not a place to attain PR's due to the crowd of runners. I was at the back of the pack at the start and it took over two minutes to get to the starting line. And then it took over an hour before the pack had thinned out to where you could run unimpeded.
It was a cool morning but was hot during the race. The optimum temperature to me is about 40-45 degrees. It must have been in the 60's by the finish. Everyone had salt stains on their face and body by the end. Everyone except Rosie Ruiz, that is.
After the race I was sitting on a nearby curb with a friend who had also run the marathon. We were awaiting another friend on his way to pick us up. I looked down the sidewalk and saw this female runner walking toward us. She wasn't thin. She looked closer to being termed "voluptuous". As she approached, I saw she was wearing a crown of leaves. I said to my friend, "That must be the woman who won the ladies' competition". He responded, "She doesn't look to me like she has even been running". And of course, she hadn't. Any marathon runner knows how hard it is and how exhausted and beat one is after completing a difficult marathon---especially to have WON a race! It was obvious to us that this woman had run very few miles on that day!