Marie Davenport (born as Marie McMahon in

Ennistymon Ennistymon or Ennistimon () is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. The River Inagh, with its small rapids known as the Cascades, runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to ...

) is a female

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 ...

from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. She first took part in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

as a participant in the 5,000 metres, and later in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Davenport did not advance out of the first heat of the women's 5000 meters in the 1996 Atlanta games. She ran 15:59 for 5K in her debut games at the age of 19. Davenport finished 14th in the 2004 Olympic 10,000m final in a time of 31:50. Davenport was a 10-time NCAA All-American, NCAA Champion in the indoor 5000m, and led Providence College to their first NCAA team title in women's cross country in 1995. Davenport was an eight-time Big East Champion while attending Providence College. She also won the 5000 meters at the Penn Relays three years in a row. Davenport was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 2009. Davenport won the BAA Half Marathon in a then course record time of 1:10:57. She won the race again in 2006 in 1:12:10. Davenport ran 2:33 for 16th place in the 2005 New York City Marathon. Davenport's time of 31:28 for 10,000m ranks 3rd all time for Ireland behind Sonia O'Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan. Davenport finished 23rd in the 1996 Cross Country World Championships held in South Africa. Davenport finished 45th in the 2002 Cross Country World Championships and 77th in the 1999 World Championships. Davenport won the Women's Boston Tufts 10K in a time of 32:48 ahead of Ethiopian Genet Gebregiorgis in 2004. Davenport won the CVS Downtown 5K in 15:19 to take home the $5000 prize. After retiring from competitive running, Marie finished 4th in the Masters Division of the Boston Marathon in 2015 in the freezing rain. She ran 2:49 despite running alone into a headwind for the last 12 miles. This was Marie's last competitive race. Davenport was issued a warning by the IOC for taking a cold medicine for a stuffy nose without giving notification to her team doctor during the 1996 Olympics. The medicine was not on an IOC banned list and only required an athlete's declaration. The Irish newspapers wrongly reported that Marie could face a four year ban which created a media frenzy. She was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Olympedia Davenport planned to compete in 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 ...

in 2005, but was prevented by injury. She won the Women's Mini Marathon, Dublin in 2007. In 2012 she came second in the Guilford Frosty 5K. Davenport attended

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

, and, as of 2012, was living with her husband and children in

Guilford, Baltimore Guilford is a prominent and historic neighborhood located in the northern part of Baltimore, Maryland. It is bounded on the south by University Parkway, on the west by North Charles Street, Warrenton and Linkwood Roads, on the north by Cold Spr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Marie 1975 births Irish female long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Living people Doping cases in athletics Irish sportspeople in doping cases