Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. She was one of the best female

long-distance runners Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

(at one point in time she held those records simultaneously). Kristiansen was a World Champion on the

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

, becoming the first athlete to win World titles on all three surfaces. At the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, she finished fourth in the first women's Olympic marathon. At the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, she dropped out of the 10,000 metres final while leading.Ingrid Kristiansen
. sports-reference.com
. sports-reference.com Early in her career, she was also an elite cross country skier, winning several Norwegian titles and a European junior championships. Kristiansen's 1986 world record in the 10,000 m was not broken for 5 years. Her

1985 London Marathon The 1985 London Marathon was the fifth running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The elite men's race was won by home athlete Steve Jones (runner), Steve Jones in a time of 2:08:16 hours an ...

2:21:06 was the record marathon time for 13 years.

Career

Ingrid Kristiansen started her career quite unremarkably, running 2:30 to 2:40 for her first few marathons. She won the bronze medal in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

at the

1980 World Championships in Athletics The 1980 World Championships in Athletics was the second global, international athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Hosted from 14 to 16 August 1980 at the De Baandert in Sittard, Nethe ...

and won the 1983

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...

in 2:33:27 while two months pregnant—a fact she didn't know until two months later. It was not until she gave birth to her first son, Gaute, that her times began to improve. After winning the

again and the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

in 1984, she placed fourth in the first Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles. She also set two track world records in the 5,000 m (14:58.9) on 28 June 1984 and the 10,000 m (30:59.14) on 27 July 1985, at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...

in Oslo. In 1985 she won the London Marathon again in a new world record of 2:21:06; the previous record was 2:22:43 set in the 1983

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

Joan Benoit Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woma ...

. Later in 1985 she lost to Benoit in the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

, running 2:23:05 for second place. 1986 was Kristiansen's best year in track. After she won the Boston Marathon in hot conditions, she set a new world record in the 10,000 m (30:13.3), smashing her own world record from 1984 by 46 seconds. Then she broke the 5,000 m world record, running 14:37.89. On 5 April 1987, she won a half marathon in Sandnes, running 1:06:40, but the course was not measured properly and the world record still remained with Joan Benoit. She won the Chicago Marathon, once again in hot and humid conditions, running 2:27:08. She ended the year winning the 10,000 m event at European Championships, running the 2nd fastest time ever (30:23.3) and nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. In 1987 Kristiansen attempted to break her marathon world record in London, but she slowed in the second half and won in 2:22:48. She won the first World Championships Women's 10,000 m in Rome, despite a leg injury. In 1988 she won the London Marathon for the fourth time, finishing in a time of 2:25:41. Despite a 1:09 first half, she slowed dramatically in the second half, however she was still five minutes ahead of any other woman. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, she participated in the 10,000 m, and even though she was the heavy favourite, she dropped out after seven laps with a fractured bone in her foot. She returned to racing in 1989, winning the Boston Marathon in 2:24:33 despite the heat in the latter stages. She decided not to run any track races that year, but she still won a few road races in Europe. Her final marathon was the 1989

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 ...

, which she won in a time of 2:25:30, running away with it from the start. Gradually she raced less and less, despite winning the 1990 City-Pier-City Loop in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. She retired in 1993 and lives with her husband and two children in Oslo, Norway. She won 14 out of 26 marathons entered.

Achievements

Note: The 1987 World Road Race Championship was held in November while the 1988 edition was held in March.

World Records

*5000 m world record with 14:58.89 in Oslo, 28 June 1984 – first woman to run under 15 minutes *5000 m world record with 14:37.33 in Stockholm, 5 August 1986 *10,000 m world record with 30:59.42 in Oslo, 27 July 1985 – first woman to run under 31 minutes *10,000 m world record with 30:13.74 in Oslo, 5 July 1986 *Marathon world record with 2:21:06 in London, 21 April 1985 – record stood for 13 years.

Other

*24 individual Norwegian championships *1992

Egebergs Ærespris The Egebergs Ærespris ("Honorary Prize of Egeberg") is a prize awarded to Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport. The prize was created by Ferdinand Julian Egeberg, and consists of a bronze statuette modelled by sculptor Magnus Vigr ...

Personal bests

''*'' Because of a measurement error this run doesn't qualify for record purposes.

Cross-country skiing results

World Championships

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kristiansen, Ingrid 1956 births Living people Sportspeople from Trondheim Norwegian female long-distance runners Norwegian female marathon runners Norwegian female cross-country skiers Olympic athletes of Norway Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Norway World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners London Marathon female winners Boston Marathon female winners Chicago Marathon female winners New York City Marathon female winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners