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Betty Jo Geiger

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Betty Jo Geiger
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
World Women's Road Race Championships
Silver medal – second place 1983 San Diego 10K race
Gold medal – first place 1983 San Diego Team
World Cross Country Championships
Silver medal – second place 1981 Madrid Team
Gold medal – first place 1983 Gateshead Team
Gold medal – first place 1984 East Rutherford Team
Gold medal – first place 1985 Lisbon Team

Betty Jo Geiger (née Springs; born June 12, 1961) is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 3000-meter run to the marathon.

Her greatest individual success was at the inaugural IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships in 1983, where she was runner-up to Britain's Wendy Sly and led the Americans to the team gold medal.[1] Geiger was a key member of the national team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the 1980s. Her first team medal – a silver – came at the 1981 championships and following that she helped the United States to three consecutive team titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985. She finished in the top ten on each occasion, being the number one American in 1983 and number two American athlete to Jan Merrill, Joan Benoit and Cathy Branta in the other years. She made one more appearance at the competition in 1986, and also represented her country at the Goodwill Games that year.

She was a four-time national champion, having won the 5000-meter run at the 1986 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships (in a championship record time),[2] the national 10K run three times (1984, 1985, and 1986) and the individual title at the USA Cross Country Championships.[3] She attended North Carolina State University and won four NCAA Championships for the NC State Wolfpack team: a 5000/10,000 m double at the 1983 NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and victories at the NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 1981 and 1983.[4] She won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate cross country runner in 1984.[5][6] She was inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame in 2013.[7]

Geiger competed extensively at professional road races and had wins at the Peachtree Road Race, Freihofer's Run for Women (three times), and Gate River Run, as well as runner-up finishes at the Falmouth Road Race and Gasparilla Distance Classic.[8] She married her former college coach Rollie Geiger.[9] In her youth she won the national junior title over 3000 m and was undefeated in Florida high school competitions, with 15 state titles for Bayshore High School in her native Bradenton.[10]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1981 World Cross Country Championships Madrid, Spain 6th Senior race 14:28
2nd Team 36 pts
1983 World Cross Country Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom 5th Senior race 14:00
1st Team 31 pts
World Women's Road Race Championships San Diego, United States 2nd 10 km 32:23
1st Team 14 pts
1984 World Cross Country Championships East Rutherford, United States 9th Senior race 16:20
1st Team 52 pts
1985 World Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 9th Senior race 15:44
1st Team 42 pts
1986 World Cross Country Championships Colombier, Switzerland 35th Senior race 15:45.5
4th Team 82 pts
Goodwill Games Moscow, Soviet Union 9th 5000 m 15:41.39

National titles

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Circuit wins

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Personal bests

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  2. ^ Betty Jo Geiger. Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  3. ^ United States Championships (Women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  4. ^ NCAA Division I Championships (Women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  5. ^ "NC State Dominates 50th Anniversary Women's Cross Country Team". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ^ "Cross Country". CWSA. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Tyce, Ryan (2013-11-29). Hall of Fame video interview: Runner Betty Springs Geiger. Wolfpacker. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  8. ^ Betty Jo Geiger. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  9. ^ Rollie Geiger. NC State Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  10. ^ Run Titles Won By Athletics West. New York Times (1983-11-27). Retrieved 2018-02-13.
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