Priscilla June Welch, née Mayes (born 22 November 1944) is a British retired
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 ...
runner. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:54 when finishing sixth at the
1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 2:26:51 when finishing second at the 1987
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 ...
. The latter time stood as the
W40 World Masters record for over 20 years. She also won the 1987
New York City Marathon.
Biography
Born in
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
, England, as Priscilla Mayes, she had a most unlikely career in international
athletics, having been a smoker of a pack a day until she began running competitively at age 35. An officer in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, Welch met her husband Dave while serving in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. She quit smoking, and under his tutelage, she ran in the 1981
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 ...
at age 36, running 2:59:00.
Welch won the
Glasgow Marathon in 1981 (2:55:15) and 1982 (2:46:58), before twice improving her best in 1983 with 2:39:29 for 10th in London and 2:36:32 when winning the
Enschede Marathon. She moved to second on the British all-time list (behind
Joyce Smith's 2:29:43) when running 2:30:06 at the 1984 London Marathon, qualifying for the British team for the
1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The same year Welch also became the
British 10,000 metres champion and
marathon national champion after winning the British
WAAA Championships titles at the
1984 WAAA Championships.
In the first women's Olympic marathon (1984), aged 39, she finished sixth, setting a new British record with 2:28:54.
Two months after the Olympics, she won the
Columbus Marathon in 2:34:04. After the British record was improved by
Sarah Rowell (2:28:06) and
Veronique Marot (2:28:04), Welch regained the record with 2:26:51 when finishing second at the London Marathon in April 1987. This time was also an age group (W40) world record, and ranked her as the sixth fastest in the world for 1987. This stood as the W40 age group world record until 2008 when
Ludmila Petrova ran 2:25:43. In November 1987, Welch won the
New York City Marathon running 2:30:17.
The 1988 British Olympic trial race was the London Marathon on 17 April. Welch instead chose to run the
Boston Marathon the following day. There she set the Boston W40 age group record by running a 2:30:48. This record stood until 2002 when
Firiya Sultanova ran 2:27:58. With the first two British finishers in London (
Ann Ford and
Susan Tooby) assured Olympic selection, there was only one remaining Olympic place. Welch, whose Boston time was almost a minute faster than Ford's in London, was initially overlooked in favour of Veronique Marot, who had withdrawn shortly before London due to injury. Marot was given the third Olympic spot, providing she could prove her fitness, but days later, it was announced that there had been a mix-up and Welch, not Marot, was selected for the Seoul Olympics. Months later she withdrew because of injury.
A 1992 bout with
breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
curtailed Welch's marathon career. Her last marathon was the 1991
Los Angeles Marathon
The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...
, where she finished 11th in 2:40:20. In October 1999, aged 54, she ran 63:58 at the Tulsa 15 km road race. She later moved to
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River.
The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...
, with family living in
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, England.
Achievements
*
All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise
References
Marathon Leaders for 1987
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Priscilla
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
1944 births
Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Living people
English female long-distance runners
British female long-distance runners
Sportspeople from Bend, Oregon
Sportspeople from Bedford
New York City Marathon female winners
English female marathon runners
British female marathon runners
20th-century English sportswomen