Julie Brown (athlete)


Julie Ann Brown is an American retired distance runner. She won the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in 1975 and represented the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics in the women's marathon, placing 36th.
Brown set the American women's marathon record at the Nike OTC Marathon in 1978, running 2:36:23.
Brown concentrated on track and cross-country running prior to the Olympic trials but a victory in the Avon Women's Marathon in 1983 convinced her that she could qualify for the Olympic marathon team. She ran a conservative race staying in the pack until the midway point and broke away finishing second, 37 seconds behind the Olympic trials winner, Joan Benoit Samuelson. She broke the 10,000 metres world record setting a time of 35:00.4 minutes in 1975.
After her track career, Brown received her J.D. from Western State University and, joined a law firm as an attorney.

High school

Brown was born in Billings, Montana, and competed in a variety of distance events winning several state championships while attending Billings Senior High School. She competed in the 880-yard run winning the state championship for three years in a row starting in 1970. She still holds the All-State record with an 880-yard time of 2:11.0. She also won two 440-yard run championships and in her senior year, she was state cross-country champion as well.

College

Brown started at the University of California, Los Angeles before switching to California State University, Northridge. As a college athlete she won Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championships in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 3000 meters, and cross-country. She also won Amateur Athletic Union national titles in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters, cross-country, and marathon, as well as winning The Athletics Congress national titles in 3000 meters, cross-country, and marathon.

International

Brown won an IAAF World Cross Country Championship in 1975; the first American woman to do so. She won the race in a time of 13:42, five seconds ahead of Bronislawa Ludwichowska from Poland.
At the 1979 Pan American Games, Brown won three silver medals, taking second place in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, and 3000 meters.
Brown qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics in the 800 meters and 1500 meters but did not compete due to the boycott of the Olympics. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead. She did compete in the 1984 Olympics in the marathon, placing 36th.
Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to have run the entire Boston Marathon, sculpted three 12-inch bronze figurines of a running pony-tailed girl that were given as trophies to Joan Benoit Samuelson, Julie Brown, and Julie Isphording, the top three women marathoners at the US Olympic trials in 1984.
She entered the marathon at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics, but failed to finish the competition.