Kathrine is listed in this Mother Jones’ article:
More than four decades ago, tennis star Billie Jean King faced off against gambler Bobby Riggs at the Astrodome in front of millions of viewers. The stakes for the so-called “Battle of the Sexes,” set to be brought to the big screen on September 22, were higher than the Vegas odds. A loss against Bobby Riggs, King later said, would have “set us back 50 years.” But you know what happened—King emerged victorious.
It may have been the United States’ most widely publicized battle of the genders, but King wasn’t the first American woman to outmatch a male athlete. Here’s a brief history of female competitors smoking men on the field:
1967: At 20, Kathrine Switzer is the first woman to officially complete the Boston Marathon. Since women are barred from competing in the race, she registered under the moniker K.V. Switzer. Marathon director Jock Semple, known as “Mr. Boston Marathon,” rushed onto the course, grabbed at Switzer’s race bib, and screamed, “Get the hell out of my race,” forever immortalized in an iconic black-and-white photo. In April 2017, the year she runs the marathon again at the age of 70, her race number—261—is retired forever by the race’s organizers.
