Marie-Véronique Antoinette Colette Jeannine Marot (born 16 September 1955) is a former

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 ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

who moved to

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 b ...

in 1976. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:04 at the 1985 Chicago Marathon and 2:25:56 when winning the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

London Marathon. The latter time stood as the UK record for 13 years. She is also a three-time winner of the

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 ...

and represented Great Britain at 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 ...

Career

Marot was born in

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

. She moved to England in 1976 to study at York University and became a British citizen in 1983. Early in her running career, Marot competed in several fell races. In 1979 she unofficially completed the Ennerdale Fell Race before women were allowed to take part, to the consternation of the race organiser. The next year, women were allowed to compete over the full course. Marot first ran under three hours for the marathon, running 2:55:38 at the 1980 Barnsley Marathon. At the inaugural London Marathon in 1981, she finished ninth, improving her best to 2:46:51. She further improved with 2:42:14 for 21st at the 1983 London Marathon and 2:36:24 for 7th at the 1983

New York 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 ...

. She improved again with 2:33:52 for fourth at the 1984 London Marathon, before finishing second at the 1984 New York Marathon with 2:33:58. She broke the British record for the first time when finishing fifth at the 1985 Chicago Marathon, running 2:28:04. A three-time winner of the

, she first won it in 1986, running 2:31:33. Later that year, she failed to finish at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, she finished 22nd in 2:45:02. She earned selection for the 1988 Olympic Games but declined it due to injury. 1989 began with Marot winning the Houston Marathon for the second time, with 2:30:16. Then in April, she won the 1989 London Marathon in 2.25.56, regaining the British record from

Priscilla Welch Priscilla June Welch (born 22 November 1944) is a British retired marathon runner. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:54 when finishing sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 2:26:51 when finishing second at the 1 ...

, who had run 2:26:51 in 1987. Marot's time stood as the British record for 13 years until it was broken by Paula Radcliffe in 2002. Marot won the Houston Marathon for the third time in 1991, running 2:30:55, before failing to finish at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo. In 1992, she finished 16th at the Barcelona Olympics in 2:42:55. She also twice won the Around the Bay Road Race in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

(1991 and 1992). In 2003, aged 47, she finished 24th at the London Marathon, running 2:55:01. Marot (as of 2022) ranks fifth on the UK all-time list behind Radcliffe,

Jess Piasecki Jess Piasecki (, born 18 April 1990) is a British long-distance runner. She competed in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. She finished in 36th place. In 2019, she won the Úst ...

Mara Yamauchi Mara Rosalind Yamauchi (born Mara Myers 13 August 1973) is a British long-distance track and road running athlete. She currently holds the third fastest time by a British woman over the marathon, behind former world-record holder, Paula Radclif ...

and

Charlotte Purdue Charlotte Purdue (born 10 June 1991) is a British long-distance runner who competes in the Marathon and Half Marathon, as well as cross country running for Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletics Club. After winning a number of youth titles ...

Personal life

Marot has a son and a daughter with her coach, Brian Scobie.

Achievements

Note: In 1985 Marot ran the London Marathon just 8 days after running in the World Cup Marathon.

References

External links

Power of 10 UK Women’s Marathon Rankings

Leeds City Athletics Club

gbrathletics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marot, Veronique 1955 births Living people People from Compiègne Sportspeople from Oise French emigrants to England British female long-distance runners British female marathon runners London Marathon female winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British fell runners Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom