Jill Boltz (née Hunter, born 14 October 1966) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

former distance runner who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

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 ...

and the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. She won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

. In 1991, she broke the World Best for 10 miles, with 51:41 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She also twice won the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offici ...

10,000 metres title (1989, 1995).

Career

Hunter was born in

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and was a member of Blaydon Harriers Athletics Club and later Valli Harriers. She first came to prominence as a cross-country runner, finishing second to Angela Tooby at the 1988 UK world cross country trial, ahead of

Zola Budd Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) is a South African middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 30 ...

. At the 1988 World Cross Country Championships in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

she made the top ten, finishing ninth. In August, she finished second behind

Yvonne Murray Yvonne Carole Grace Murray-Mooney (née Murray, born 4 October 1964), is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres at the 1988 Oly ...

at the

in the 3000 metres in 8:51.51, earning Olympic selection. Two weeks later, she ran her best ever 3000 metres at the Zurich Grand Prix, running 8:47.36. At the

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 ...

in September, she was eliminated in her heat, running 8:57.28 Hunter finished in the top ten at both the

1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Stavanger, Norway, at the Scanvest Ring on March 19, 1989. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Complete results for senior men, junior men, senior women, jun ...

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

and the 1989 World 15km Road Race Championships in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, placing seventh and sixth respectively. That year, she also won the AAAs National title at 10,000 metres, to earn Commonwealth selection for

. At the

in January, she won the silver medal behind Scotland's

Liz McColgan Elizabeth Nuttall (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a ...

. Later that year, she finished eighth in the 10,000 metres final at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

. Hunter had perhaps the best year of her career in 1991. In April, she broke Cathy O'Brien's 10 mile World Best on the roads, with 51:41 in

. In June, at the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, she ran her lifetime best 10,000 m with 31:07.88, to finish second behind Kathrin Ullrich who ran 31:03.62. This performance moved her to fifth on the world all-time list at the time. In July she ran 48:19 for 15 km on the roads, which at the time, ranked her sixth on the world all-time list. As the world's number three (after McColgan and Ullrich) she was a serious medal contender in the 10,000 metres at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, however she struggled in the humid conditions and finished ninth in the final in 32:24.55 In 1992, Hunter achieved her third top ten finish at the World Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In the summer, she ran her career best 5000 metres with 15:09.98 in Hechtel. Then in August, at the

Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, she finished 10th in the 10,000 metres final in 31:46.49. After struggling with injuries, Hunter returned to win her second AAAs 10,000 m title in 1995 and earn selection for the

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, where she finished 15th in the 10,000 metres final. As of 2022, Hunter ranks seventh on the UK all-time list for 10,000 m (31:07 in 1991), 11th on the 10 km road (31.42 in 1989) and eighth on the 15 km road (48:19 in 1991), while her 10-mile road best (51:41 in 1991) still ranks third on the UK all-time list, with

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

and

Eilish McColgan Eilish McColgan (born 25 November 1990) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres champion with the Games record, and 5000 metres silver medallist. McColgan is a four-time European Champio ...

being the only British women to have gone faster.

Personal life

Hunter married Danny Boltz, a Swiss-born Australian distance runner, who represented

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the Marathon. My killer session – Jill Boltz
''Athletics Weekly'' (2016-06-28). Retrieved 2018-03-08.

National titles

*AAAs National 10,000 metres Champion (1989, 1995)

International competitions

Notes: *(h) Indicates overall position achieved in qualifying round. *(#) indicates superior time achieved in qualifying round.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Jill 1966 births Living people English female long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games