Lynn Jennings (born July 10, 1960 in
PrincetonPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) is a retired American athlete who competed mainly in the long distances. She is one of the best female American runners of all time, with a range from 1500 meters to the marathon. She excelled at all three of the sport's major disciplines--track, road, and cross country. She is only one of two American women ever to earn an Olympic medal at a track event longer than 800 meters, and her American road-race record for 10,000 meters (31:06) still stands.
She is a nine-time champion of the
USA Cross Country ChampionshipsThe USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as well as acting as the selection race for the IAAF...
and won the
IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsIAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
on three separate occasions, more than any other American runner.
Graduating the Bromfield School in Harvard, MA, in 1978, she left behind countless records along with Arianna Lambie.
Career
Jennings was the bronze medalist at 10,000 meters in the
1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, held in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Her time of 31:19.89 was a new American record, and it lasted until May 3, 2002, when it was broken by
Deena KastorDeena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...
in Palo Alto,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
She won the
World Cross Country ChampionshipsIAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
in 1990, 1991, and 1992. The 1992 race was held at
Franklin ParkFranklin Park may refer to some places in the United States:* Franklin Park, Boston, a large public park in Boston, Massachusetts* Franklin Park, Florida* Franklin Park, Illinois* Franklin Park, New Jersey* Franklin Park, Oakland...
in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, on some of the same trails where she had won several Massachusetts state high school championships. She went to
Bromfield high schoolThe Bromfield School is a public school located in Harvard, Massachusetts. Founded in 1878 by Margaret Bromfield Blanchard, the school's student population is approximately 750, in grades 6–12...
in
Harvard, MassachusettsHarvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...
. Here she ran on the boys' cross country team, as there was no girls' team at the time, and won the league championship race. Her years as a high school state champion in cross country are reminiscent of an early scene in the film
Without Limits, about
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
, in which Prefontaine shoots out to a determined lead very early in a high school race and is good enough to keep the lead to the finish. Jennings won the U.S. National Cross Country Championship nine times.
Jennings ran the Boston Marathon unofficially in 1978 and finished in 2:46, a time which would have placed third in the open women's division. In 1999, approaching age 39, she ran 2:38 officially in Boston. She later ran for Nike's Athletics West team.
Career Highlights: 1992 Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist; three-time World Cross Country champion (1990-1991-1992); three-time U.S. Olympian (1988, 1992, 1996); 1995 World Indoor 3000-meter silver medalist; 1993 World Indoor 3000-meter bronze medalist, fifth place in both the 1991 and 1993 World Championships at 10,000 meters; nine-time U.S. Outdoor champion.
Jennings currently lives in
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Achievements
| Representing the |
| 1986 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 14th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 23, 1986 in Colombier . There were a total number of 670 participating athletes from 57 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
|
Neuchatel, Switzerland |
2nd |
|
|
| 1987 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 15th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 22, 1987 in Warsaw, Poland. There were a total number of 576 participating athletes from 47 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
|
Warsaw, Poland |
4th |
|
|
| World Championships The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987.-Track:1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995...
|
Rome, Italy |
6th |
10,000 m |
31:45.43 |
| 1988 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 16th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 26, 1988 at the Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
|
Auckland, New Zealand |
4th |
|
|
| Olympic Games At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul a total number of 42 events in athletics were contested: 24 by men and 18 by women. There were a total number of 1617 participating athletes from 149 countries.-Men's events:...
|
Seoul, South Korea |
6th |
10,000 m |
31:39.93The Women's 10,000m at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entrylist of 43 competitors, with two qualifying heats before the final took place on Friday September 30, 1988.-Records:...
|
| 1989 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 17th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 19, 1989 in Stavanger, Norway.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
|
Stavanger, Norway |
6th |
|
|
| 1990 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 18th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1990 in Aix-les-Bains, France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
|
Aix-les-BainsAix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
, FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|
1st |
|
|
| Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United States, highlighting the competition's role in...
|
Seattle, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
3rd |
3000 m |
8:52.34 At the 1990 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held in Seattle, Washington, United States between July and August 1990. A total of 43 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 20 by female athletes...
|
| 1991 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 19th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**- References :...
|
Antwerp, Belgium |
1st |
|
|
| World Championships The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
|
Tokyo, Japan |
5th |
10,000 m |
31:54.44 |
| 1992 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 20th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 21, 1992 in Boston, United States.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
|
Boston, United States |
1st |
|
|
| Olympic Games At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders...
|
Barcelona, Spain |
3rd |
10,000 m |
31:19.89 |
| 1993 |
World Indoor Championships The 4th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Skydome in Toronto, Canada from March 12 to March 14, 1993. It was the last Indoor Championships to feature the 5,000 and 3,000 metres race walk events. In addition, it was the first Indoor Championships to include heptathlon and...
|
Toronto, Canada |
3rd |
3000 m |
9:03.78 |
World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 21st IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 28, 1993 in Amorebieta, Spain.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
|
Amorebieta, SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
|
3rd |
|
|
| World Championships The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
|
Stuttgart, Germany |
5th |
10,000 m |
31:30.53 |
| 1995 |
World Indoor Championships The 5th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 10 March to 12 March 1995. There were a total number of 602 participating athletes from 130 countries.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:...
|
Barcelona, Spain |
2nd |
3000 m |
8:55.23 |
| World Championships The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
|
Gothenburg, Sweden |
12th |
10,000 m |
32:12.82 |
| 1996 |
Olympic Games At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...
|
Atlanta, United States |
9th |
5000 m |
15:17.50These are the official results of the Women's 5.000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were a total of 48 competitors, with two non-starters.-Final classification:-Non-qualifiers:-See also:...
|