Marathon, Women

The top women marathoners between 1984 and 1988 were Norway’s Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen, and Portugal’s Rosa Mota. Kristiansen elected not to run the marathon at Seoul, choosing the 10,000 instead. Mota was not as heralded as Waitz, the first great female marathoner, but her overall marathon record in major championships is unsurpassed. She won the first World Championship in 1983 in Helsinki, won the European Championships in 1982, 1986, and 1990, and she eventually won every major city marathon except New York, at which she never competed.

During the Seoul race, Mota ran in the lead group throughout and never really trailed. Running with her for most of the race were two well-considered runners, Australia’s Lisa Martin and the GDR’s Katrin Dörre. The three were still together as they approached 40 km, but Mota surged slightly and opened a narrow gap. She was able to hold the lead, eventually defeating Martin by 13 seconds, with Dörre winning a bronze medal.