Shorter, Rodgers, Corbitt and Benoit Samuelson named to NYRR hall of fame

Today was the third annual New York Road Runners Hall of Fame induction.

This years inductees are Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Bill Rodgers, and Ted Corbitt.

Shorter is best known for his 1972 Olympic marathon gold medal, one of only three Americans to ever do so, and the only since Johnny Hayes won in 1908. He followed that performance up with a silver medal in 1976. His life after competition included helping to establish the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and co-founding the Bolder Boulder road race, which has grown to one of the largest road races in the United States.

Benoit rose to prominence when she won the inaugural 1984 women’s Olympic marathon by breaking away from the field within the first 10K and running most of the race alone. She held the American record of 2:21:21 between 1985 and 2006. She is still racing today, having completed a sub-2:50 marathon in 2008. Today the 55-year-old is a motivational speaker for school groups and a Nike consultant.

Rogers won both the New York City Marathon the Boston Marathon four times. He was the first person to ever with the Boston, New York, and Fukuoka marathons in the same year.

Corbitt was the co-founder and first president of the NYRR. He was the first African American to represent the United States in an Olympic marathon and was a national marathon champion in 1954. Soon after Corbitt became a top-ranked ultramarathon runner during the 1960s. He also held numerous American records throughout his career.  He who passed away at the age of 88 in 2007.

Shorter, Benoit and Rogers were on hand to receive their awards. John Corbitt, Ted’s son, accepted his father’s award.