FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nina Kuscsik to Receive Abebe Bikila Award at
2022 TCS New York City Marathon
October 1 to mark 50 years since the "Six Who Sat" at the
1972 New York City Marathon
New York, September 29, 2022 - Nina Kuscsik, a trailblazer for women's
running, will receive the Abebe Bikila Award this year, an honor which is
presented each year from New York Road Runners (NYRR) to an individual who
has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of distance running. The
award will be presented to Kuscsik at NYRR's Night of Champions during TCS
New York City Marathon race week.
"I am very proud. It was such a long time ago when I was advocating for
more opportunities in women's running; it just seemed like the right thing
to do," Kuscsik said. "I attended all the meetings of the AAU in person,
and I learned how to file appropriate legislation. I also had other men and
women helping me so that we could get the rules changed, so myself and
other women runners would have the right, and be eligible, to run
marathons. It is so wonderful to see the results of it all today."
Kuscsik transformed the sport of running by breaking through the "boys'
club" barrier to change the rules so they included women. After she ran the
1969 Boston Marathon - unofficially, as women weren't allowed to enter -
she presented a proposal to the Amateur Athletic Union, asking for an end
to the ban on women entering races. The committee agreed to raise the
maximum distance of AAU-sanctioned events for women from five to 10 miles
and added that "certain women" could run marathons. The rules still
required a separate women's start.
On June 3, 1972, together with NYRR president Fred Lebow and Kathrine
Switzer, Kuscsik helped launch the Crazylegs Mini Marathon, the world's
original women-only road race now known as the Mastercard New York Mini
10K.
Four months later, on October 1, 1972 at the New York City Marathon,
Kuscsik and five other women huddled together just before the Central Park
start. When the gun went off, they sat down, protesting the women's
separate-start status. After the press got their story, the women got up
and started with the men's start. Kuscsik won the race, becoming the first
woman to triumph in New York and Boston in the same year. Those six women -
Lynn Blackstone, Jane Muhrcke, Liz Franceschini, Pat Barrett, Cathy Miller,
and Kuscsik - are known around the world today as the "Six Who Sat." This
Saturday will mark exactly 50 years since their actions changed the
trajectory of women's running for the generations that followed.
Kuscik would return to New York in 1973 to win the marathon once again, and
in 1977, she completed the annual NYRR 50-Mile in Central Park in 6:35:53,
an American record. She was then among the group that successfully lobbied
for a women's marathon to be added to the 1984 Olympics.
About New York Road Runners (NYRR)
NYRR's mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958,
New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world's
premier community running organization. NYRR's commitment to New York
City's five boroughs features races, virtual races, community events, free
youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring
the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of
thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and
opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR's premier event is the TCS New York City
Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features
a wide population of runners, from the world's top professional athletes to
a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn
more, visit www.nyrr.org.
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