Joan Benoit, the first woman to win gold in the marathon at the 1984 Olympics, and Kathrine Switzer, the first female registered competitor of the Boston Marathon in 1967, were holding the tape at the finish line of the women’s marathon Monday morning.
To celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Title IX and all three American women finishing in the top eight of the marathon, ASICS held a panel of powerful women in sport and industry. The panel was hosted by Emily Abbate, and included former marathon national record holder Deena Kastor, CEO of the Columbus Urban League Stephanie Hightower, sports marketing division of ASICS lead Tomoko Koda and CFO of World Athletics Championships Debbie Grant.
Hightower’s advice for women was to find a mentor and be a mentor to others. You can’t be what you can’t see, she said. She is happy with the growing popularity of female events in the track world, but not satisfied yet.
“For a long time in this sport women’s events have been put on the backburner,” Hightower said. “This event has done a lot better, but we hope that one day the women’s 100m dash will be on the first night of the championships, when all the people are watching.”
Kastor assumed the toughest challenges of her career as an athlete would be injuries. She realized that they were a great reward, because they taught her how to take care of herself and rise back stronger.
“The biggest challenge for me came when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter,” Kastor said. “I was 100% focused on my career. Everybody in my family had been supporting me over the years. So when I found out I was pregnant I wondered — how do I do this?”
The Olympic trials were six months after the birth of Kastor’s daughter, Piper. Kastor recalled training on a treadmill with her daughter next to her in a basset, not getting proper warmups before training sessions and trying to squeeze in motherly duties with Olympic duties. Kastor fell short of qualifying that year, finishing sixth.
“Both are obligations I was facing,” Kastor said. “In my mind I wasn’t giving either 100%. I realized I need to work with percentages. I just need to give 100% to whatever I’m doing at that moment.”
Taking care of the mind, as well as the body, was discussed at the panel. Grant spoke about meditating on her walk to work through Eugene. Hightower starts every morning with a meditation. She harped on the importance of women taking a few minutes every morning to take care of themselves, before taking care of everyone else.
“The depth of inspiration is there,” Kastor said on the future of women in sports. “Creating more shoulders to stand on, so the next generation can be empowered. It’s not just women inspiring women, it’s good causes and being kind that inspires others to do the same.”
