Jill Boltz (née Hunter, born 14 October 1966) is an English former distance runner who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 ...

and the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. She won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

. In 1991, she broke the World Best for 10 miles, with 51:41 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She also twice won the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

10,000 metres title (1989, 1995).

Biography

Hunter was born in

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England, and was a member of Blaydon Harriers Athletics Club and later Valli Harriers. She first came to prominence as a cross-country runner, finishing second to

Angela Tooby Angela Rosemary Tooby-Smith (née Tooby; born 24 October 1960) is a British former long-distance runner. She won a silver medal behind Ingrid Kristiansen at the 1988 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and a bronze medal in the 10,000 metr ...

at the 1988 UK world cross country trial, ahead of

Zola Budd Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) is a South African Middle-distance running, middle-distance and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain ...

. At the 1988 World Cross Country Championships in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

she made the top ten, finishing ninth. In August, she finished second behind Yvonne Murray at the

in the 3000 metres in 8:51.51, earning Olympic selection. Two weeks later, she ran her best ever 3000 metres at the Zurich Grand Prix, running 8:47.36. At the

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 represe ...

in September, she was eliminated in her heat, running 8:57.28 Hunter finished in the top ten at both the

1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Stavanger, Norway, at the Scanvest Ring on March 19, 1989. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ...

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

and the 1989 World 15km Road Race Championships in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, placing seventh and sixth respectively. That year, she also won the AAAs National title at 10,000 metres, to earn Commonwealth selection for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. At the

in January, she won the silver medal behind Scotland's Liz McColgan. Later that year, she finished eighth in the 10,000 metres final at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. Hunter had perhaps the best year of her career in 1991. In April, she broke Cathy O'Brien's 10 mile World Best on the roads, with 51:41 in

. In June, at the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, she ran her lifetime best 10,000 m with 31:07.88, to finish second behind Kathrin Ullrich who ran 31:03.62. This performance moved her to fifth on the world all-time list at the time. In July she ran 48:19 for 15 km on the roads, which at the time, ranked her sixth on the world all-time list. As the world's number three (after McColgan and Ullrich) she was a serious medal contender in the 10,000 metres at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, however she struggled in the humid conditions and finished ninth in the final in 32:24.55 In 1992, Hunter achieved her third top ten finish at the World Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In the summer, she ran her career best 5000 metres with 15:09.98 in

Hechtel Hechtel-Eksel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018 it had a total population of 12,290 an area of 76.70 km2 giving a population density of 150 inhabitants per km2. The municipality was created i ...

. Then in August, at the Barcelona Olympics, she finished 10th in the 10,000 metres final in 31:46.49. After struggling with injuries, Hunter returned to win her second AAAs 10,000 m title in 1995 and earn selection for the

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, where she finished 15th in the 10,000 metres final. As of 2022, Hunter ranks seventh on the UK all-time list for 10,000 m (31:07 in 1991), 11th on the 10 km road (31.42 in 1989) and eighth on the 15 km road (48:19 in 1991), while her 10-mile road best (51:41 in 1991) still ranks third on the UK all-time list, with

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

and Eilish McColgan being the only British women to have gone faster.

Personal life

Hunter married Danny Boltz, a Swiss-born Australian distance runner, who represented

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the Marathon. My killer session – Jill Boltz
''Athletics Weekly'' (2016-06-28). Retrieved 2018-03-08.

National titles

*AAAs National 10,000 metres Champion (1989, 1995)

International competitions

Notes: *(h) Indicates overall position achieved in qualifying round. *(#) indicates superior time achieved in qualifying round.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Jill 1966 births Living people English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games 20th-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics