There was the grey of the overcast skies and the hair of 54-year-old Sister Marion Irvine. There was the evergreen of Douglas fir and 16-year-old Cathy Schiro. There was the gold of the Scotch broom and the dreams of the top three finishers. There was the mystery and misery and mastery of Joan Benoit. There was the control and confidence of Julie Brown. There were the hopes of 238 starters. There was no tomorrow and there will never again be another first Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials.
Must admit, I probably imagined the 1984 USA Olympic Marathon Trials took place in Olympia, Washington because of the town’s name. Olympia, what could be more apt?
There must be a better reason, I was told. Nicely.
Maybe climate and topography, I started to conjecture.
Then why not L.A.? Ouch, you got me there.
Okay, okay, I’ll see what I can find out.
Not Why, But How?
I interrupted Brent James, who claimed he was busy. Brent was the CEO for the city’s bid to host.
Jack, you crack me up. I am actually on a car rallye driving a 1928 Bentley from London to Monaco over the Alps. Big fun.
You bring up a very interesting question that is rather complicated…
Remember, I was quite involved in the marketing and presentation at Nike in the early years, so I learned a few things. Like how to wow people.
I was there at the same time but I didn’t learn that. Do recall Rolling Thunder. “Ready, fire, aim!“
Please make this sound more fluid because I am pounding this out after a five-hour-drive day. Bentleys are always driven as an open car. Bentleys have a roof, of course, but no one wants to be caught with it up. Bad form.
I am now completely wowed myself.
I knew I was up against Fred Lebow – New York – and the Chicago marathon, Houston, and five other cities. I had to come up with a plan.
So, I went with what I knew, what I had seen work before. As Nike had always done, I had a hospitality suite. And we meant it. The suite was packed with Olympia oysters, Washington apples, and Olympia beer. Apple cotlets. It was amazing. Smoked salmon. No one else had a hospitality room.
Next I hired Dave Fry, the guy who produced all the Multi-media for Nike’s sales meetings and such. Well, the presentation was SPECTACULAR!
And then I got Slade Gorton, US Senator for Washington state, bit of an actual big deal in the Senate, to make the pitch. They never had a senator at the TAC and – because he was there – all the Seattle Media showed up to film the meeting.
Laurel James remembers that meeting. “They didn’t even know where we were from,” she recalls. “But there was no denying us.
“Our group was all dressed up ,when everyone else was dressed casually,” James said. “I think they saw how passionate we were about this.”
I am old enough to remember, Fred Lebow DID love his Adidas track suits. Could’ve been Fila.
Final Move
Final move. NO prior or future Olympic trials promise to bring every qualifier to the event FREE OF COST. We brought them all in five days before the race itself. And – every night – wonderful speakers and presentations at dinner, where the athletes all dined together.
All the other cities were shocked. One of the sport’s celebrities (not my favorite person) did everything in their power to crush me. They were, of course, with Fred.
So many obstacles, so many road blocks but I was just crazy enough to go for it.
No one had the imagination to understand how significant this actual event of letting women run further than 1500 meters was, but we did. As did the core staff of Kay Walters and Jeanie McKnight, I hasten to add.
I knew these women would bring this experience back to their communities and be inspired to encourage more women to go for their dream…
THAT was all I was after… this was the actualization of Title IX for me and I was honored to play a small part in this.
SO much more to unpack on this topic. I assure you this was the hardest two and a half years years of my life.
Brent James, on the road somewhere in Europe.
Blimey. Know you must be bloody knackered, mate. Good form.
WOWED you got back to me, Brent. Thank you.
Here’s Why Olympia
Having heard how Olympia was marketed, I had to talk to one of the actual customers.
Julie McKinney, currently a member of USATF Women’s Long Distance Running Executive Committee, was a member of the 1984 Olympic Trials subcommittee.
Here is what I can tell you about “Why Olympia.”
The Women’s Long Distance Running Committee of The Athletics Congress (now USATF) appointed an Olympic Trials Subcommittee, of which I was a member. Of course, there was a lot of excitement about a first Women’s Olympic Marathon, and team selection Trials.
I am not one to keep detailed records, and I do not recall all the details, but I can tell you the Subcommittee was presented with at least four strong bids. New York and Kansas were two of the other sites, both backed by Avon, and I believe there was a third Avon-backed bid. For Olympia, beyond the beautiful physical setting, favorable predicted weather, and the course itself, Olympia won us over with the enthusiasm shown by the local organizing committee, the local community, and the State of Washington.
While the other bidders came in with much more experience in staging high-caliber events, the Olympia bid focused on making the Trials an incredible experience for each participant. For example, unlike the other bids, Olympia offered to provide housing for each Qualifier (in college dorm rooms). The Olympia bid promised to provide both a quality competition, recognizing the seriousness of the event, and a festive atmosphere, recognizing the historic significance of the event.
Although it was not all smooth sailing through the planning stages (mainly due to restraints placed on sponsorships by the then USOC) Olympia delivered on all fronts, and then some.
Personally, I was the runner who came closest to the qualifying standard without making it, missing by six seconds. So, I thought of myself as the representative of all the women runners who ran faster than they thought they could because there was a Trials standard to shoot for.
However, I was there in Olympia to experience the event and cheer on all the participants with the inspirational Nina Kuscsik, then Chair of the Women’s LDR Committee.
Julie McKinney qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials.
Any friend of the inspirational Nina Kuscsik’s is a friend of mine.
And thank you for buying what ALL THOSE WONDERFUL FOLKS in Washington were selling.
Couldn’t have ended up much better. In my humble opinion.
1984 USA Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials
Standards: 2:51:16
Qualifiers: 267
Starters: 238
Finishers: 196
Inaugural U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 40-Year Reunion: Calling All 1984 Qualifiers! The celebratory return to Olympia, Washington, site of the inaugural 1984 Trials
On the weekend of May 16 – May 19 in Olympia, Washington, the locally-based 1984 Trials Legacy Committee is organizing a 40-year reunion for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials.
More than 50 of the 267 Trials qualifiers plan to attend, and a search is under way to find the rest of those history-making runners.
The committee is reaching out to the running community to help find those qualifiers.
If you know one or more of the athletes, contact Info@orgsupport.com and an electronic invite will be sent out.
https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1984-wOlympic-Marathon-Trials-Reunion.pdf
