Joan Benoit Samuelson

Freeport, Maine

Olympic Gold Medalist

Olympic gold medalist and champion marathon runner Joan Benoit Samuelson says she learned the importance of dedication and commitment to goals at her local Boys & Girls Club. Runner’s World magazine called Benoit Samuelson “the greatest American marathoner in history.” The only American woman ever to have won an Olympic gold medal in the marathon, she also achieved a Boys & Girls Club first, becoming the first woman inducted in the Alumni Hall of Fame. Benoit Samuelson is also a member of the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame and the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame.