Lidia Simon (left) with marathon legend and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Samuelson in Nagoya, Japan, this past March shortly after Simon qualified for her fifth Olympic marathon (Photo courtesy of Boulder Wave, Inc.)
Lidia Simon Heads to London for Record Fifth Olympic Marathon
July 19, 2012 (For immediate use)
Romania’s Lidia Simon travels today from her home in Boulder, Colorado, USA, to London to compete in her fifth Olympic Marathon, which will become the most Olympic Marathon appearances ever by a woman. Since entering the world stage with a superb 6th place finish at age 22 in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic marathon, Simon has been one of the most consistent, if overlooked, world-class marathoners in history. More than a decade after her Silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Marathon followed a year later by the Gold medal at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships marathon, Simon continues to notch top results, including winning the new Osaka people’s marathon in Japan last autumn and then qualifying at Nagoya in March for this summer’s Games with a 2:33:41 to clear the “A” qualifying mark.
While rivals such as Japan’s Yuko Arimori, Naoko Takahashi, and Reiko Tosa have long since wound down their competitive careers and moved to the TV announcers booth, under the guidance of her coach and husband Liviu Simon, Simon has continued to find motivation in the challenges of training and racing well even as she approaches her 39th birthday
“Yes, I am proud of this accomplishment, because I don’t think anybody else has been able to do it. It is a long time since 1996, and qualifying again this year is something I also wanted to do for myself. Also, though, I’d like to run well. A medal might be impossible, but I would like to once again make at least the top ten,” said Simon from her Boulder home a few hours before departure. “This course looks tough. I have seen it on paper, but ASICS [Simon’s sponsor the past five years] has arranged for somebody to help run the course with me and Diane Nukuri Johnson [representing Burundi in the Olympic Marathon] while I am there the next two weeks. We will run it this coming Sunday morning.”
Aside from a DNF at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Simon has been consistently near the top of the field in her Olympic appearances. In fact, her three Top-8 finishes since 1996 are more Top 8 finishes than all but three countries (Japan, Kenya, and Russia) have accomplished in that period!
Among Simon’s lifetime achievements:
- Three-time champion of the Osaka International Women’s Marathon (1998, 1999, 2000)
- Four-time Half-Marathon World Championships medalist (1996 silver, 1997 bronze, 1998 bronze, 2000 bronze)
- Three-time Marathon World Championships medalist (1997 bronze, 1999 bronze, 2001 gold) and also 5th in the 2007 World Championships
- Three-time Olympic Marathon Top 8 finisher (1996 6th, 2000 2nd, 2008, 8th)
- In London, will become the first woman in history to have raced five Olympic marathons
- Has run at least one sub-2:30 in 11 of the past 14 years going back to 1998
Simon is one of nine athletes athletes represented by Boulder Wave who will compete in London, in the women’s 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon; and the men’s marathon.
The women’s Olympic Marathon will be on a loop course starting and finishing on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. The race start is 11:00 a.m. on August 5th, 4:00 a.m. Colorado time.
Please contact Brendan Reilly with any questions or comments. Brendan@boulderwave.com or cell phone +1-720-280-2689.
