Anne Frances Audain (née Garrett, born 1 November 1955) is a New Zealand middle and long-distance runner. She competed in three Olympic Games and four Commonwealth Games, winning the 1982 Commonwealth Games 3000m title and a silver medal in the 10,000m at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

Career

Born in Auckland, Audain finished ninth aged 17 in the 1973 World Cross Country Championships. She ran in the 1500 m at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

in Christchurch, New Zealand, finishing sixth, and top New Zealander, in the final with a time of 4:21.1. In the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

in Montreal, Audain competed in both the 800 and 1500 m. Although she failed to get past the heats, she broke the New Zealand record for the 1500 m. Prior to the start of the 1980s, major track and field athletics meetings had not had any women's events longer than 1500 metres. This started to change early in the new decade, and in March 1982, Audain competed in her first 5000 metres, breaking the world record. In the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

in Brisbane she won Gold in the 3000 metres in 8m 45.53s, a New Zealand record. The record stood for 25 years until it was finally broken by Kim Smith of Auckland, when she ran 8min 35.31sec on 25 July 2007 in Monaco. At the 1984 Olympic Games Audain competed in the inaugural women's Olympic

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. In the 1988 Games, her last, she finished 11th in the inaugural women's

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. In 1993 Audain founded the Idaho Women's Fitness Celebration 5K, now the largest race for women in the USA.

Honours and awards

Audain was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to athletics. In February 2008, Audain was inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions, and on 3 February 2009 she was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. She has the unique distinction of being in three Halls of Fame in two nations as in 2014 she was also inducted into the RRCA Distance Running Hall of Fame.

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Audain, Anne 1955 births Living people New Zealand female long-distance runners New Zealand female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes from Auckland Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics New Zealand female cross country runners People educated at McAuley High School