LOS ANGELES: Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first women’s Olympic marathon champion, hopes the return of the Summer Games to Los Angeles in 2028 will propel a new generation of American distance runners to the podium, even if they are not the favourites.

Samuelson, who won gold on the streets of Los Angeles in the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon, recalled approaching that race as an underdog, unburdened by expectation.

“I was in the right place at the right time and if the day had been different, the result could have been totally different,” she said in a Reuters interview at Nike Victory Relay.

“I wasn’t the favourite, and it’s always easier being the underdog. I just said, ‘Go out and run my own race,’ and that’s exactly what I did,” she said. “I broke from the pack a little and I just kept running.”

She pointed to the enthusiasm at the Nike Victory Relay as evidence of momentum.

“It just shows that the youth are exuberant about what’s going to come down the track in the next of couple years,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2025