Moment In Time: April 19, 1967 Boston Marathon - Kathrine Switzer attacked by official mid race

Katerine Switzer was pushed by a race official for wearing a numbered bib during the Boston Marathon in 1967
Kathrine Switzer was pushed by a race official for wearing a numbered bib during the Boston Marathon in 1967 Credit: Getty Images

Moment In Time will become a regular feature on our TWS channels. This month we look back on the iconic image of American runner Kathrine Switzer pushed aside by a race official at the Boston Marathon in 1967. 

Who were the individuals captured in the historic photograph and what happened next?

 

Little did Kathrine Switzer know, when she pinned bib No 261 to her sweatshirt and lined up for the Boston Marathon in 1967, her appearance would make front pages of newspapers around the world. 

Back then, women were not allowed to run more than 1,500 metres in sanctioned races. Marathons were for men. Switzer’s application slipped through the net as she signed the entry form using her initials KV Switzer.

The rules did not prevent women from running, but they could only join from the sidelines and run without a number. Four miles into the race, Switzer was attacked by race director Jock Semple. Her then boyfriend, Tom Miller, manhandled Semple and the flashpoint became a symbol in running of female empowerment. Switzer finished in 4hr 20min. No longer were woman deemed too fragile to complete 26.2 miles.

Five years later women were finally allowed to run the Boston Marathon officially.

Kathrine Switzer

Born in Germany to an American army family, the athletic and head-strong Switzer said she had no intention of making history when she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967 as a numbered entrant. “I was just a 20-year-old kid who wanted to run.” Switzer began to advocate for women’s rights and played a pivotal role in the successful campaign to get the women’s marathon into the 1984 Olympics. When she completed the 2017 Boston, 50 years after her initial run, the race organisers retired her 261 number.

Tom Miller

A 235lb American football player and national-ranked hammer thrower, Miller announced he was going to join his then girlfriend and run Boston. He said he didn’t need to train because “if a girl can run a marathon, I can run a marathon”. Miller was removed by the Amateur Athletic Union for his bodycheck of Semple and married Switzer in 1968. They divorced four years later. Miller died of a heart attack in 1992.

Kathrine Switzer at London Marathon
Switzer had no intention of making history when she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967 as a numbered entrant Credit: Julian Simmonds

Jock Semple

The Scotland-born race director emigrated to America in 1921 and organised the Boston Marathon for more than 30 years. He was a highly-respected figure for his passion towards running even if he was a stickler for the rules. As he attempted to wrest the bib from Switzer, Semple screamed: “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.” He later reversed his stance on women running marathons and became a staunch supporter. He died in 1988, aged 84.

Arnie Briggs

A Second World War veteran, Briggs was the Syracuse University running coach credited with taking Switzer to Boston even though he had his own reservations about women running marathons. “Once convinced, Arnie was like an evangelist,” Switzer said. “He went all over the campus preaching that women have hidden potential and stamina.” Briggs died in 2000, aged 84.

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