Véronique Marot

Marie-Véronique Antoinette Colette Jeannine Marot (born 16 September 1955) is a former marathon runner from France who moved to England in 1976. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:04 at the 1985 Chicago Marathon and 2:25:56 when winning the 1989 London Marathon.[1] The latter time stood as the UK record for 13 years. She is also a three-time winner of the Houston Marathon and represented Great Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Career

Marot was born in Compiègne, France. She moved to England in 1976 to study at York University and became a British citizen in 1983. Early in her running career, Marot competed in several fell races. In 1979 she unofficially completed the Ennerdale Fell Race before women were allowed to take part, to the consternation of the race organiser. The next year, women were allowed to compete over the full course.[2]

Marot first ran under three hours for the marathon, running 2:55:38 at the 1980 Barnsley Marathon. At the inaugural London Marathon in 1981, she finished ninth, improving her best to 2:46:51. She further improved with 2:42:14 for 21st at the 1983 London Marathon and 2:36:24 for 7th at the 1983 New York Marathon. She improved again with 2:33:52 for fourth at the 1984 London Marathon, before finishing second at the 1984 New York Marathon with 2:33:58. She broke the British record for the first time when finishing fifth at the 1985 Chicago Marathon, running 2:28:04. A three-time winner of the Houston Marathon, she first won it in 1986, running 2:31:33. Later that year, she failed to finish at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, she finished 22nd in 2:45:02. She earned selection for the 1988 Olympic Games but declined it due to injury.

1989 began with Marot winning the Houston Marathon for the second time, with 2:30:16. Then in April, she won the 1989 London Marathon in 2.25.56, regaining the British record from Priscilla Welch, who had run 2:26:51 in 1987. Marot's time stood as the British record for 13 years until it was broken by Paula Radcliffe in 2002. Marot won the Houston Marathon for the third time in 1991, running 2:30:55, before failing to finish at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo. In 1992, she finished 16th at the Barcelona Olympics in 2:42:55. She also twice won the Around the Bay Road Race in Ontario (1991 and 1992). In 2003, aged 47, she finished 24th at the London Marathon, running 2:55:01. Marot (as of 2022) ranks fifth on the UK all-time list behind Radcliffe, Jess Piasecki, Mara Yamauchi and Charlotte Purdue.

Personal life

Marot has a son and a daughter with her coach, Brian Scobie.[3][4]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  United Kingdom
1978 Barnsley Marathon Barnsley, United Kingdom unknown Marathon 3:55:48
1979 Barnsley Marathon Barnsley, United Kingdom 15th Marathon 3:42:13
1980 Barnlsey Marathon Barnsley, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:55:38
1981 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 9th Marathon 2:46:51
Rugby Marathon (AAAs) Rugby, United Kingdom 3rd Marathon 2:53:39
Bolton Marathon Bolton, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:51:52
1982 Sandbach Marathon Sandbach, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:54:29
1983 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 21st Marathon 2:42:14
Bolton Marathon Bolton, United Kingdom 2nd Marathon 2:49:51
New York City Marathon New York, United States 7th Marathon 2:36:24
1984 Osaka International Ladies Marathon Osaka, Japan 8th Marathon 2:38:37
London Marathon London, United Kingdom 4th Marathon 2:33:52
New York City Marathon New York, United States 2nd Marathon 2:33:58
1985 Reading Half Marathon Reading, United Kingdom 1st Half marathon 1:12:56[5]
Houston Marathon Houston, United States 3rd Marathon 2:31:16
World Marathon Cup Hiroshima, Japan 8th Marathon 2:37:05
London Marathon London, United Kingdom 9th Marathon 2:35:12
Bolton Marathon Bolton, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:42:01
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 5th Marathon 2:28:04
1986 Houston Marathon Houston, United States 1st Marathon 2:31:33
London Marathon London, United Kingdom — Marathon DNF
European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany — Marathon DNF
1987 Houston Marathon Houston, United States 2nd Marathon 2:35:37
London Marathon London, United Kingdom 3rd Marathon 2:30:15
World Championships Rome, Italy 22nd Marathon 2:45:02
Tokyo International Women's Marathon Tokyo, Japan 4th Marathon 2:31:55
1988 Humber Bridge Marathon United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:38:25
Columbus Marathon Columbus, Ohio, United States 3rd Marathon 2:33:36
1989 Houston Marathon Houston, United States 1st Marathon 2:30:16
London Marathon London, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:25:56
1990 New York City Marathon New York, United States 11th Marathon 2:38:40
1991 Houston Marathon Houston, United States 1st Marathon 2:30:55
World Championships Tokyo, Japan — Marathon DNF
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 16th Marathon 2:42:55
2003 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 24th Marahon 2:55:01
2005 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 505th Marathon 3:29:39
2016 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 9700th Marathon 5:02:56

Note: In 1985 Marot ran the London Marathon just 8 days after running in the World Cup Marathon.

References
  1. Simon Turnbull (17 April 1999). "London Marathon: Marot's long run for home". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  2. Steve Chilton, It's a Hill, Get Over It (Dingwall, 2013), 148, 155; Gabrielle Collison, British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980s (2012), 257-64.
  3. "London Marathon: Marot's long run for home". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011.
  4. "Véronique Marot ready for London return". 17 April 2016.
  5. Stan Eldon. "Reading Half Marathon". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 4 March 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.