Priscilla Welch

Priscilla June Welch (born 22 November 1944) is a British retired marathon runner. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:54 when finishing sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 2:26:51 when finishing second at the 1987 London Marathon. The latter time stood as the W40 World Masters record for over 20 years. She also won the 1987 New York City Marathon.

Career

Born in

athletics, having been a smoker of a pack a day until she began running competitively at age 35. An officer in the British Army, Welch met her husband Dave while serving in Norway. She quit smoking, and under his tutelage, she ran in the 1981 London Marathon

at age 36, running 2:59:00.

Welch won the

Ludmila Petrova ran 2:25:43. In November 1987, Welch won the New York City Marathon

running 2:30:17.

The 1988 British Olympic trial race was the London Marathon on 17 April. Welch instead chose to run the

Susan Tooby

) assured Olympic selection, there was only one remaining Olympic place. Welch, whose Boston time was almost a minute faster than Ford's in London, was initially overlooked in favour of Veronique Marot, who had withdrawn shortly before London due to injury. Marot was given the third Olympic spot, providing she could prove her fitness, but days later, it was announced that there had been a mix-up and Welch, not Marot, was selected for the Seoul Olympics. Months later she withdrew because of injury.

A 1992 bout with breast cancer curtailed Welch's marathon career. Her last marathon was the 1991 Los Angeles Marathon, where she finished 11th in 2:40:20. In October 1999, aged 54, she ran 63:58 at the Tulsa 15 km road race. She resides in Bend, Oregon, with family living in Northampton, England.

Achievements

All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing Great Britain
1981	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	18th	2:59:00
	Aberdeen Marathon	Aberdeen, United Kingdom	2nd	3:08:55
	Glasgow Marathon	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	2:55:15
1982	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	21st	2:53:36
	Scottish Championships	Grangemouth, United Kingdom	3rd	2:55:59
	Bolton Marathon	Bolton, United Kingdom	2nd	2:56:19
	Aberdeen Marathon	Abedeen, United Kingdom	3rd	2:55:59
	Glasgow Marathon	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	2:46:58
1983	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	10th	2:39:29
1983	Enschede Marathon	Enschede, Netherlands	1st	2:36:32
1984	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	2nd	2:30:06
	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, United States	6th	2:28:54
	Columbus Marathon	Columbus, United States	1st	2:34:04
1985	Pittsburgh Marathon	Pittsburgh, United States	4th	2.34.35
	Columbus Marathon	Columbus, United States	4th	2.38.06
	New York Marathon	New York, United States	5th	2.35.30
1986	Nagoya International Women's Marathon	Nagoya, Japan	DNF	—
	Pittsburgh Marathon	Pittsburgh, United States	3rd	2:41:25
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	3rd	2:31:14
1987	Nagoya International Women's Marathon	Nagoya, Japan	6th	2:38:51
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	2nd	2:26:51
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	1st	2:30:17
1988	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	4th	2.30.53
1988	Honolulu Marathon	Honolulu, United States	2nd	2:43:20
1989	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	12th	2:36:15
1991	Los Angeles Marathon	Los Angeles, United States	11th	2:40:20

References

External links

Priscilla Welch at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)