Joan Benoit was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on May 16, 1957.
Joan Benoit was born on May 16, 1957, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, a coastal town that would shape her lifelong connection to the outdoors and endurance sports.
Raised in an athletic family, she grew up skiing and playing sports before turning seriously to running, first as a way to rehabilitate a ski injury. Maine's rugged terrain and seasons provided an ideal training ground for the distance runner she would become.
Her New England roots and unassuming small-town upbringing later became part of her public identity as a pioneering American marathoner, contrasting with the more urban, high-profile backgrounds of many of her competitors. Her birth in coastal Maine is frequently cited in profiles as foundational to her identity as 'Maine's Joan Benoit Samuelson,' a nickname she carried throughout her career and into her decades of continued competitive and community running in her home state.
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