VESTAL, N.Y. – Former Olympic marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson was the featured speaker at the 14th Annual Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon on Monday afternoon at the Events Center. The luncheon, which had an event-record 780 attendees, was geared towards raising support for the Binghamton Bearcats Athletics Association (BBAA) Women's Scholarship Fund.
Benoit Samuelson was the first-ever women's Olympic marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. In addition, she is a two-time Boston Marathon champion, having won the event in 1979 and 1983. Her winning time of 2:22.43 was the course record for 28 years. Furthermore, Benoit Samuelson's 1985 victory in the Chicago Marathon established an event record that stood for 32 years.
Benoit Samuelson was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1998, the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004 and the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2017, a plaque honoring her was unveiled in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum's Court of Honor, where she won her 1984 Olympic Gold Medal.
In addition to her running, Benoit Samuelson currently serves as a coach to women's cross-country and long-distance athletes, and is a motivational speaker and sports commentator.
On Monday at the Events Center, Benoit Samuelson shared her appreciation for the university's commitment to supporting women's athletics.
"I was honored when I was asked to come speak at this event," she said. "The Binghamton University community has been very welcoming to me and they are definitely committed to the purpose of this day."
Benoit Samuelson arrived Monday morning at the Events Center with a message for everyone in attendance, especially the young athletes.
"It is important for young people to follow their hearts and live their dreams," she said. "The road isn't always easy but where there is passion there is fire and with fire you can ignite anything in the world. I was a young athlete once and was always passionate about what I did."
When Benoit Samuelson started running, Title IX had yet to be established and there was a stigma associate with women running long distances. The story on how she proved that stigma to be false got a round of applause from the audience at the Events Center.
"The longest race that a girl could run back then was 800 meter because there was a fear that they would do harm to their bodies," she said. "I have run over 150,000 miles since then and still am trying to figure out what harm could have been done."
This year's student speaker was senior Erin Schultz of the volleyball team -- who is one of this year's recipients of a scholarship from the Women's Scholarship Fund. She expressed her gratitude for being able to come to Binghamton and continue to play the sport that she loves.
"I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to play Division I volleyball at Binghamton University," she said. "I have met so many individuals along the way who have inspired me to see the world from a different perspective. Some of them have become my closest friends and some I now consider family."
Since 2006, the Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon has raised more than $500,000 to support the Women's Scholarship Fund – including over $50,000 on Monday. In addition, the Binghamton Athletic Department recently received a commitment of $75,000 for the Women's Scholarship Fund from the family of Ben VanDerLinde, a BBAA board member and university alum who passed away last year.
The Women's Athletics Scholarship Fund was established in 2007 and this year, 10 female student-athletes including Schultz were the honored recipients. The Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon began in 2006, with just 75 attendees, and is today one of the Athletics Department's primary fundraisers.
Benoit Samuelson is the latest of an impressive group of guest speakers who have come to Binghamton for the Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon. She is preceded by Shannon Boxx (2018), Swin Cash (2017), Amy Van Dyken (2016), Rebecca Lobo (2015), Jennie Finch (2014), Shannon Miller (2013), Amanda Beard (2012), Julie Foudy (2011), Kara Lawson (2010) and Jessica Mendoza (2009).
Luncheon attendees on Monday had the opportunity to meet current Bearcat student-athletes and coaches from the women's teams. In addition, guests had the chance to bid on several auction items with all proceeds going toward the BBAA Women's Scholarship Fund.
NOTE: M&T Bank was this year's title sponsor of the Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon.
