Lynn Alice Jennings (born July 1, 1960) is a retired American

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 ...

. She is one of the best female American runners of all time, with a range from

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

to 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 ...

. She excelled at all three of the sport's major disciplines: track,

road 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. Th ...

, and cross country. She won the bronze in the Women's 10,000 metres at 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 set a world indoor record in the 5000 meter run in 1990. She is a nine-time champion of the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

and won the IAAF World Cross Country Championships three times consecutively from 1990 to 1992. Only two other women (Norway's

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz ...

and Kenya's Edith Masai) have achieved this feat.

Career

Born in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, Jennings attended the Bromfield school in

Harvard, Massachusetts Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. It is mostly bounded by I-495 to the east and Route 2 to the north. A farming community se ...

. She ran on the boys' cross country team, as there was no girls' team at the time. Jennings won the U.S. National Cross Country Championship nine times. She ran the Boston Marathon unofficially in 1978 and finished in 2:46, a time which would have placed third in the open women's division and a record for her age group '. Graduating in Harvard, MA, in 1978, she left behind countless records, including the national high school indoor 1500-meters run. Jennings attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and graduated with an A.B. in history in 1983 after completing a 93-page long senior thesis titled "The Harvard Shakers: A Study of the Rise and Decline of a Community." Despite numerous college running titles, she left the university "unsatisified" with her performance. She failed to qualify for the 1984 Olympics, but was the bronze medalist at 10,000 meters in the

1992 Summer 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 ...

, held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. Her time of 31:19.89 was a new American record, and it lasted until May 3, 2002, when it was broken by Deena Kastor in

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She won the World Cross Country Championships in 1990, 1991, and 1992. The 1992 race was held at Franklin Park 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 ...

, on some of the same trails where she had won several Massachusetts state high school championships. She won consecutive 3000 m medals at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

, taking bronze in 1993 then silver in 1995. Outdoors she had fifth-place finishes over

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 ...

in both the 1991 and 1993

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 ...

. She was also a nine-time U.S. Outdoor champion. In 1999, approaching age 39, she ran officially in the Boston Marathon in 2:38. Jennings currently lives in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She has become an accomplished masters rower ( sculler), winning a gold medal in 2012 and bronze medal in 2011, in the women's grand master single scull event at the

Head of the Charles Regatta The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immed ...

, one of the most competitive and prestigious long-distance rowing races in the world. In 2023, Jennings revealed that she had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her longtime coach John Babington starting from when she was 15 years old. Babington, who was accused of abusing two other girls, confessed to the majority of accusations when questioned by

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

but cannot be charged due to the statute of limitations.

Achievements

;Circuit wins * Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women: 1977, 1989–1993 * Cinque Mulini (XC): 1986, 1987 * Pittsburgh Great Race: 1986 *

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 ...

: 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993–1996, 1998 * Charlotte Observer 10K: 1987, 1988, 1992 *

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

: 1987 *

Gate River Run The Gate River Run (GRR), formerly known as the Jacksonville River Run, is an annual road running event in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, that attracts both competitive and recreational runners. It has functioned as the US National Champi ...

: 1988, 1996, 1997, 1999 *

Falmouth Road Race The Falmouth Road Race is an annual road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights. The race organizer is Falmouth Road Race, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that puts on the race ea ...

: 1992 *

Bay to Breakers Bay to Breakers is an annual road running, footrace in San Francisco, California typically on the third Sunday of May. The phrase "Bay to Breakers" reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks fro ...

: 1993 * Tulsa Run: 1993 * Crim Festival of Races: 1993 * Manchester Road Race: 1994 *

Feaster Five Road Race The Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race, more commonly called the Feaster Five, is a 5-mile road race held annually in Andover, Massachusetts, United States, on the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day. It is one of the Bay State's ...

: 1996, 1997

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Lynn 1960 births Living people Sportspeople from Princeton, New Jersey People from Harvard, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts Track and field athletes from New Jersey Track and field athletes from Massachusetts American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners American female cross country runners Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games 20th-century American sportswomen Princeton Tigers women's track and field athletes

Career

Achievements

See also

References

Further reading

External links