Joyce Esther Smith (née Byatt, born 26 October 1937) is a British former

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

. She broke the world record in the 3000 metres in 1971 and is a three-time medallist at the International/

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

, including winning in 1972. She went on to twice win the London Marathon, becoming the first British woman in history to run under 2:30 when winning in 1981 with 2:29:57, before further improving the British record to 2:29:43 when winning in 1982. She also competed in the 1500 metres at the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and finished 11th in the marathon 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 ...

, aged 46.

Biography

Smith was born in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London, and began running competitively in the 1950s, at which time the longest distance for women in international competitions was 800 metres. She won the English National Crosscountry Championship (AAA) in 1959 and 1960. In 1965, she told ''

Athletics Weekly ''AW'' (formerly ''Athletics Weekly'') is a monthly track and field magazine published in the United Kingdom by Athletics Weekly Limited. The magazine covers news, results, fixtures, coaching and product advice for all aspects of track and field, ...

'' that she intended to continue competing "for two more years at the most" and stopped running competitively in 1968. Smith returned to competitive running in 1969, and broke the world record for 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 ...

distance in 1971, and won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in 1971, the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in 1972 and the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in 1973 in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She reached the semi-final of 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 ...

at the 1972 Olympic Games. In 1973, she won her third National Crosscountry Championship. She won the bronze medal in 3000 m at the European Athletics Championships in 1974. In 1978, she retired from track running after setting a new world record for 3000 m in the age group W40 of 9:11.2 minutes, which was broken 27 years later, and ran her first marathon in 1979, beating the previous British record held by Rosemary Cox by nine minutes and seventeen seconds in a time of 2:41:37. In 1979, she won the ''

Avon International Marathon The Avon International Marathon was an annual women's marathon event that was held at various locations from 1978 to 1984. Sponsored and organised by Avon Products, a beauty and household goods company, it was the longest distance race within the ...

'' in

Waldniel Waldniel is a village, part of the municipality Schwalmtal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schwalmtal in the district Viersen (district), Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has 11,750 inhabitants (December 2020). History The first humans lived ...

. In 1979 and 1980, she won the first two editions of the

Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

. In 1980, she set a new British 25 kilometre record of 1:28:18 in Bruges, which was also the new W40 world record which was broken 24 years later. In 1981, she won the first London Marathon in 2:29:57, becoming the first British woman and the first woman over 40 to complete the distance in less than two and a half hours. A year later, she won the event in 2:29:43, again setting a new British record, and becoming the oldest woman to win the race at 44 years, 195 days, a record which has not yet been broken. In the first World Athletics Championships in 1983 in Helsinki, she finished ninth in the marathon. In 1984, she became the oldest female Olympic athlete by running in the first women's Olympic marathon, and finished eleventh at the age of 46. She retired from competitive running in 1986 after setting a new W45 record for the ten-mile distance of 55:33. In the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Smith was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to athletics. She and her husband, Bryan, are on the board of trustees of the London Marathon Charitable Trust. Bryan is a marathon coach who also organises the Mini London Marathon.

Achievements

References

External links

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''London Marathon: First lady is still the one and only''
Article by Simon Turnbull in '' The Independent'', 14. April 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Joyce 1937 births Living people People from Stoke Newington Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hackney Athletes from London English female marathon runners English female long-distance runners English female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Members of the Order of the British Empire London Marathon female winners British masters athletes World record holders in masters athletics European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain International Cross Country Championships winners