Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

, 10,000 metres and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

(at one point in time she held those records simultaneously). Kristiansen was a World Champion on the track,

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

and cross-country, becoming the first athlete to win World titles on all three surfaces. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she finished fourth in the first women's Olympic marathon. At the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

, she dropped out of the 10,000 metres final while leading.Ingrid Kristiansen
. sports-reference.com
. sports-reference.com Early in her career, she was also an elite cross country skier, winning several Norwegian titles and a European junior championships. Kristiansen's 1986 world record in the 10,000 m was not broken for 5 years. Her 1985 London Marathon 2:21:06 was the record marathon time for 13 years.

Career

Ingrid Kristiansen started her career quite unremarkably, running 2:30 to 2:40 for her first few marathons. She won the bronze medal in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics and won the 1983

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 ...

in 2:33:27 while two months pregnant—a fact she didn't know until two months later. It was not until she gave birth to her first son, Gaute, that her times began to improve. After winning the

again and the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

in 1984, she placed fourth in the first Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles. She also set two track world records in the 5,000 m (14:58.9) on 28 June 1984 and the 10,000 m (30:59.42) on 27 July 1985, at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

in Oslo. In 1985 she won the London Marathon again in a new world record of 2:21:06; the previous record was 2:22:43 set in the 1983

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

by Joan Benoit. Later in 1985 she lost to Benoit in the Chicago Marathon, running 2:23:05 for second place. 1986 was Kristiansen's best year in track. After she won the Boston Marathon in hot conditions, she set a new world record in the 10,000 m (30:13.3), smashing her own world record from 1984 by 46 seconds. Then she broke the 5,000 m world record, running 14:37.89. On 5 April 1987, she won a half marathon in Sandnes, running 1:06:40, but the course was not measured properly and the world record still remained with Joan Benoit. She won the Chicago Marathon, once again in hot and humid conditions, running 2:27:08. She ended the year winning the 10,000 m event at European Championships, running the 2nd fastest time ever (30:23.3) and nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. In 1987 Kristiansen attempted to break her marathon world record in London, but she slowed in the second half and won in 2:22:48. She won the first World Championships Women's 10,000 m in Rome, despite a leg injury. In 1988 she won the London Marathon for the fourth time, finishing in a time of 2:25:41. Despite a 1:09 first half, she slowed dramatically in the second half, however she was still five minutes ahead of any other woman. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, she participated in the 10,000 m, and even though she was the heavy favourite, she dropped out after seven laps with a fractured bone in her foot. She returned to racing in 1989, winning the Boston Marathon in 2:24:33 despite the heat in the latter stages. She decided not to run any track races that year, but she still won a few road races in Europe. Her final marathon was the 1989

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

, which she won in a time of 2:25:30, running away with it from the start. Gradually she raced less and less, despite winning the 1990 City-Pier-City Loop in

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. She retired in 1993 and lives with her husband and two children in Oslo, Norway. She won 14 out of 26 marathons entered.

Achievements

Note: The 1987 World Road Race Championship was held in November while the 1988 edition was held in March.

World Records

*5000 m world record with 14:58.89 in Oslo, 28 June 1984 – first woman to run under 15 minutes *5000 m world record with 14:37.33 in Stockholm, 5 August 1986. This time improved the world record by over 10 seconds and stood for nearly 9 years. *10,000 m world record with 30:59.42 in Oslo, 27 July 1985 – first woman to run under 31 minutes *10,000 m world record with 30:13.74 in Oslo, 5 July 1986 *Marathon world record with 2:21:06 in London, 21 April 1985 – record stood for 13 years.

Other

*24 individual Norwegian championships *1992

Egebergs Ærespris The Egebergs Ærespris ("Honorary Prize of Egeberg") is a prize awarded to Norway, Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport. The prize was created by Ferdinand Julian Egeberg, and consists of a bronze statuette modelled by sculptor Magnu ...

Personal bests

''*'' Because of a measurement error this run doesn't qualify for record purposes.

Cross-country skiing results

World Championships

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kristiansen, Ingrid 1956 births Living people Athletes from Trondheim Norwegian female long-distance runners Norwegian female marathon runners Norwegian female cross-country skiers Olympic athletes for Norway Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Norway World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners London Marathon female winners Boston Marathon female winners Chicago Marathon female winners New York City Marathon female winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Norwegian sportswomen