Switzer finished third among women in the first officially sanctioned women's division of the Boston Marathon, receiving her trophy from former antagonist Jock Semple.
On April 17, 1972, the Boston Marathon officially sanctioned a women's division for the first time, five years after Kathrine Switzer's groundbreaking unofficial entry. Switzer competed in this historic race and finished third among the women entrants.
In a moment rich with symbolism, Switzer received her trophy from none other than Jock Semple, the same race official who had tried to physically remove her from the course in 1967. Over the intervening years, the two had reportedly developed a grudging mutual respect, and Semple's presentation of her award represented a full-circle moment in the fight for women's inclusion in competitive distance running.
The 1972 race marked the culmination of years of advocacy by Switzer and other female runners and activists who lobbied the Amateur Athletic Union and the Boston Athletic Association to lift the ban on women's participation in marathons. Eight women officially entered and completed the 1972 race, a landmark moment that formally ended the exclusion of women from one of the world's most prestigious marathons.
This achievement cemented Switzer's dual legacy: not only as a symbolic pioneer in 1967, but as a genuine elite competitor once the sport was legally opened to women, demonstrating both her athletic ability and her role in permanently transforming the sport's structure.