Benita Jaye Willis (born 6 May 1979 in

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

) is an Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Her foremost achievement is a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the long race at the

2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20/21, 2004. The races were held at the Ossegem Park in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', and for the IAAF. ...

. She has also won team medals at that competition on two occasions. She has competed at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

four times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) and has twice represented Australia at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

(2002, 2006). At the

2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 2003 in Vilamoura, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the west ...

she won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

with a time of 1:09:26 hours. In 2004, she won the 8K at the

and also the women's

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

title at the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shie ...

. She was 24th in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. At the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships she won her second career medal at the event by coming fourth in the short race and helping the Australian women to the team bronze medal. She set a time of 2:22:36 at the 2006

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

, a new Australian national record and an Oceania area record. She won the Berlin Half Marathon in 2007 in a personal best time of 1:08.28 hours. Her third international cross country medal came at the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All race ...

as she finished eleventh in the long race to lead Australia to third on the team podium. She finished third at the 2010

Great Ireland Run The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions. It is sponsored by SPAR and features both an el ...

, recording a time of 34:28. In spite of a break of over three years without competing over the distance, she was the runner-up at the 2012

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

with a time 2:28:24 hours (within the Olympic qualifying standard). Willis was a training partner of Australian distance star

Craig Mottram Craig Mottram (born 18 June 1980) is a former Australian long and middle-distance runner who specialised in the 5000 metre event. Early years Mottram was born on 18 June 1980 in Frankston, Victoria. He attended Geelong Grammar School. Care ...

Achievements

Circuit wins

;Cross country *

Chiba International Cross Country The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan, in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Ch ...

: 2002, 2003, 2004 *

Cross de San Sebastián The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', is an annual cross country running event which is staged in late January in San Sebastián, Spain. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's ...

: 2005 * Cross Zornotza: 2005 * Cinque Mulini: 2005 * Lidingöloppet 10K: 2009 ;Road *

San Silvestre Vallecana The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run for amateur athletes and an elite race for professional athletes. In 2012, the race achieved its hist ...

: 2004 *

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 199 ...

: 2004 (First Australian to win) *

Freihofer's Run for Women The Delightful® Run for Women (formerly Freihofer's Run for Women) is an annual five-kilometer road running competition for women that is usually held in late May or early June in Albany, New York, United States. First held in 1979, the race has ...

: 2006, 2007, 2008 * Berlin Half Marathon: 2007 * Great Yorkshire Run: 2007 * Great Edinburgh Run: 2008

Recognition

In 2018, inducted into Australia Hall of Fame. Inaugural inductee to

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

Sport Walk of Fame in 2022.

References

External links

*Historical Results fo
Benita Johnson
*World Marathon Majors Athlete Profile fo
Benita Johnson
at Fastwomen.com *TheFinalSprint.co
Podcast interview
before running the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Benita Living people 1979 births Australian female middle-distance runners Australian female long-distance runners Australian female marathon runners Sportspeople from Mackay, Queensland Athletes from Queensland Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Sportswomen from Queensland World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games University of Canberra alumni Australian Athletics Championships winners 21st-century Australian sportswomen