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St. Hilaire and Spangler to be inducted into RRCA Hall of Fame on March 24th

Posted February 17th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Announcements, Olympics

Two U.S. Olympians, Judi St. Hilaire and Jenny Spangler, will be inducted into the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 24, during the four-day RRCA Convention to be held in Chicago. The selection committee released their decision today.

The RRCA Hall of Fame consists of American citizens who have shown long-term excellence in long distance running and/or have made outstanding contributions to the sport. Members of the Hall include legendary athletes like Horace Ashenfelter, Doris Brown Heritage, Ted Corbitt, Lynn Jennings, Steve Prefontaine, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Frank Shorter, and Bill Rodgers.

St. Hilaire, 47, represented the U.S. in the 10,000m in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona finishing eighth in a personal best 31:38.04. Although she ran the New York City Marathon in 1984 and finished fifth in 2:37:49, her greatest running strength was at races from 5-K to 15-K. She also finished seventh in the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo in the 3000m, setting a personal best of 8:44.02, and was the #1 road racer in the world in 1993, according to Track & Field News.

Spanger, 43, was the surprise winner of the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in 1996 in Columbia, S.C., running away from the field in 2:29:54. Previously, at 19 years-old, she set the U.S. junior record for the marathon (2:33:52), and ironically set the U.S. masters record for the marathon of 2:32:39 at age 40 (since surpassed by Colleen De Reuck). At the 1996 Olympics, she dropped out of the marathon with an injury.

The RRCA is, according to their website, the national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting long distance running as a competitive sport and as healthful exercise. RRCA’s mission is to represent and promote the common interest of its member clubs, events, and individual runners through education, leadership, programs and other services.