In which Olympic year did the women's marathon debut? The answer is 1984. The event was introduced at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics on August 5, making it the first women's marathon in Olympic history. Fifty runners from 28 countries entered, and 44 completed the race.
American Joan Benoit won the inaugural Olympic title in 2:24:52. She attacked early, moving ahead in the third mile and holding her lead despite the heat. Norway's Grete Waitz took silver, while Portugal's Rosa Mota won bronze; all three were leading figures in the development of women's distance running.
The race also became famous for Gabriela Andersen-Schiess of Switzerland, who entered the stadium severely exhausted and struggled through the final lap. Officials allowed her to continue because she remained conscious and appeared able to finish without assistance. She eventually crossed the line in 37th place.
A common mix-up is confusing the Olympic debut with the first women's marathon world championships, which were held in 1983. The Olympic women's marathon has remained a standard athletics event ever since.