Dale Greig

Dale Greig (born March 15, 1937) is a former Scottish long-distance runner who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the women's marathon on May 23, 1964 with a time of 3:27:45.^{[1][nb 1]} Grieg held world's best title until Mildred Sampson set a new mark nearly three months later.^{[nb 2]}

With this performance, she became the first woman to break 3hr 30min for the marathon distance. Her record was set on 23 May 1964 at the Isle of Wight Marathon where she was followed around the course by an ambulance. It was her first attempt at the distance.

She was also the first woman to run the 55-mile London-to-Brighton race in 8:30 in 1972 – seven years before female competitors were officially allowed. In 1974, at the age of 37, she won the first international championship marathon for women, at the world veterans' championships in Paris.

Notes

1. ^ According to a 2002 interview in The Independent, Greig said: "My time was actually 3hr 27min 25sec, but it was published in the papers as 3hr 27min 45sec."^[2]
2. ^ The International Association of Athletics Federations notes Sampson's mark as being set on July 21, 1964.^[1] Peter Heidenstrom, a statistician for Athletics New Zealand, has been reported as providing a date of December 1964,^[3] however, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians notes the date of Sampson's performance was August 16, 1964.^[4] Other sources from August to October of 1964 support the August date.^[5][6] The ARRS also indicates that Sampson's mark was set during a time trial and does not recognize it in their progression of marathon world bests.^[4][7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (pdf). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. p. 653. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved May 21, 2010. 
2. ^ The Independent on Sunday 20 October 2002
3. ^ Jutel, Anne-Marie (2007), "Forgetting Millie Sampson: Collective Frameworks for Historical Memory.", New Zealand Journal of Media Studies 10 (1): 31–36, http://www.nzmediastudies.org.nz/issues/requestpopup.html?articleauthor=Annemarie+Jutel&articletitle=Forgetting+Millie+Sampson%3A++Collective+Frameworks+for+Historical+Memory&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nzmediastudies.org.nz%2Farticles%2F10_1_005_JUTEL.PDF&issue=Volume+10+No.1 
4. ^ ^{a b} "World Marathon Rankings for 1964". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. http://arrs.net/MaraRank/ATM_Mara1964.htm. Retrieved May 21, 2010. "Mildred Sampson (NZL) ran 3:19:33 in a time trial on 16 Aug 1964 at Auckland NZL." 
5. ^ "Housewife's Marathon Record Run", The Age (Melbourne): 22, August 18, 1964, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VB0TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=15YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3987,3203407&dq=mildred-sampson+new+zealand&hl=en, retrieved May 21, 2010 
6. ^ Rogin, Gilbert (October 5, 1964), "The Fastest Is Faster", Sports Illustrated, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1076457/index.htm, retrieved May 21, 2010, "One Saturday last August, a Mrs. Millie Sampson, a 31-year-old mother of two who lives in the Auckland suburb of Manurewa, went dancing until 1 a.m. The next day she cooked dinner for 11 visitors. In between, she ran the marathon in 3:19.33, presumably a record." 
7. ^ "World Best Progressions- Road". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. http://arrs.net/RecProg/RP_wwR.htm. Retrieved May 21, 2010. "The 3:19:33 by Milred Sampson (NZL) on 16 Aug 1964 at Auckland NZL was a time trial." 

• The Independent 5 Oct 1997
• The Independent on Sunday 20 October 2002
• The Times 11 April 2003; "Greig paves way for women with record run in Ryde"

Records
Preceded by Merry Lepper	Women's Marathon World Record Holder May 23, 1964 – July 21, 1964* (*see explanation in the Notes section)	Succeeded by Mildred Sampson

Persondata
Name	Greig, Dale
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Date of birth	March 15, 1937
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