Morio Shigematsu, 74, is celebrating his 50th anniversary of winning the 1965 race in a then-course record of 2:16:33. Interestingly, less than two months after winning the Boston Marathon he would set a then-world record of 2:12:00 at the Polytechnic Marathon in England. Shigematsu celebrated his anniversary by competing in the B.A.A. 5K on Saturday.
· Bill Rodgers, 67, is celebrating his 40th anniversary of winning the 1975 race (2:09:55) and 35th anniversary of 1980 win (2:12:11). Rodgers is one of only four men to win at least four Boston Marathon titles and is the last American winner to repeat as champion, claiming three straight titles from 1978 through 1980. Rodgers also won four New York City Marathon crowns, was the Grand Marshal at last year’s Boston Marathon, and is a John Hancock Elite Team Ambassador.
· Geoff Smith, 61, won the 1984 race in 2:10:34 and returned in 1985 to defend his title in 2:14:05. While a senior at Providence College in 1984, he used his Boston Marathon win to qualify for the British Olympic team. Smith is a two-time Olympian for Great Britain who now lives in Massachusetts and is one of the very few athletes who has run a sub-four minute mile and also broken 2:10:00 in the marathon.
· Lisa Rainsberger, 53, is the last American to win the women’s open division at the Boston Marathon. A native of Michigan, she has also won the Chicago marathon twice. This year she will be the Boston Marathon’s Elite Women’s Division Official Starter. After running the B.A.A. 5K on Saturday, Rainsberger will run the Boston Marathon on Monday to celebrate the anniversary of her win. Rainsberger won the 1985 race in 2:34:06, and is celebrating her 30th anniversary as champion.
· Gelindo Bordin, 56, has the distinct honor of being the first man to win both an Olympic gold medal in the marathon and a Boston Marathon title over the course of his career. In 1990 he won the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:08:19. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, he claimed the Olympic gold medal in the marathon with a time of 2:10:32. He is the only Boston Marathon champion ever from Italy. Bordin finished the 2014 Boston Marathon in 4:10:37 and plans to run this year’s Boston Marathon.
· Cheri Blauwet, 34, came to Boston as a medical student at Stanford University, broke free over the Newton Hills, and went on to win the 2004 Boston Marathon crown in 1:39:53. In 2005 she retained her title, winning by over three minutes in 1:47:45. Among her many other accomplishments, she has won medals at the Paralympics, and has traveled the world to promote and enhance disability rights.
Many other Boston Marathon champions, pioneers, and significant figures in race history will also be in town to participate in Boston Marathon weekend in a number of ways.
Joan Samuelson, 57, two-time (1979, 1983) Boston Marathon champion and winner of the inaugural women’s Olympic Marathon in 1984 will run the 2015 Boston Marathon after having won her age division in 2014 (2:52:10). Amby Burfoot, 68, returns to run the Boston Marathon one year after finishing in 4:42:48. Greg Meyer, Lorraine Moller, Sara Mae Berman, Jack Fultz, Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb, Nina Kuscsik, and Uta Pippig are among other Boston Marathon champions who are in Boston for the 119th Boston Marathon.
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