Adrienne Beames (7 September 1942,

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

– 27 December 2018) was an

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long-distance runner frequently credited as the first woman to break the 3-hour barrier in the marathon.

1971 marathon attempt

In the early 1970s, women's marathoning was met with deep hostility; the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

was the longest track event officially recognised for women. When Beames' attempts to officially enter a marathon were thwarted, she and her coach, Fred Warwick, organised an invitational event to be run over a certified course in Werribee. Despite Warwick's request, the now defunct Victorian Women's Amateur Athletic Association refused to time the event. On 31 August 1971, Warwick claimed that Beames had run a 2:46:30 in

Werribee, Victoria Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werribee i ...

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, shattering the previous women's world best of 3:01:42 set three months earlier by American

Beth Bonner Elizabeth Bonner (June 9, 1952 – October 9, 1998) was an American long-distance runner. On May 9, 1971, Bonner ran a 3:01:42 marathon time in Philadelphia at the AAU Eastern Regional Championships, breaking the world best set one year earlier b ...

at the AAU Eastern Regional Championships in Philadelphia. According to some sources, this mark stood until 27 October 1974 when Chantal Langlacé ran 2:46:24 in Neuf-Brisach, France. Some sources question the validity of Beames' run and indicate that it was Bonner who actually first broke three hours with a 2:55:22 at the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

on 19 September 1971. John Craven, a sports writer reporting on the story at the time, questioned whether the course was the required distance. Dismissed by the press as a "

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

", Beames performance was not officially verified or recognised. The

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

, the international

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for the

sport of athletics Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing sports, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking ...

, does not recognise the mark in their progression for the marathon world best.

1972 record claims

During January 1972, her coach, Fred Warwick, announced a series of private time trials that she had completed, claiming several world records: 15:48.6 for 5,000m, 4:28.8 for the mile, 4:09.6 for 1,500m, and 34:08 for 10,000m. None of these had independent observers, and have been treated with suspicion.

Olympic selection controversy

Beames was suspended by local officials in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

when she entered a race without their permission, thereby ending her hopes of competing in the 1972 Munich Olympics. In the 1970s, she moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where she studied, worked, and competed on the American

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

circuit. By 1973, Beames held women's world bests in the 5000 and 10000 as well as the marathon. Beames posted an official 2:46:32 at a marathon in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

on 10 December 1977; however, she was disqualified for course cutting. She won the inaugural Asics Half Marathon with a 1:22:15 on 23 July 1983.arrs.run
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Personal life

Adrienne Beames was the daughter of

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er,

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Percy Beames Percy James Beames (27 July 1911 – 28 March 2004) was an Australian sportsman who played Australian rules football for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) as well as first-class cricket for Victoria in the Sheff ...

. She excelled in tennis and squash before taking up running. In 1990, she earned a graduate diploma in

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beames, Adrienne 1942 births 2018 deaths Australian female long-distance runners 20th-century Australian women