Ingrid Kristiansen

Ingrid Kristiansen

Ingrid Kristiansen with family in 1987
Personal information
Born	21 March 1956 (1956-03-21) (age 68) Trondheim, Norway
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Sport	Long-distance runner
Club	BUL, Oslo
Medal record Representing Norway World Championships 1987 Rome 10,000 m 1980 Sittard 3000 m World Cross Country Championships 1988 Auckland women's race 1985 Lisbon women's race 1987 Warsaw women's race World Road Race Championships 1987 Monte Carlo 15 km 1988 Adelaide 15 km European Championships 1986 Stuttgart 10,000 m 1982 Athens Marathon

Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon and was a World Champion on the track, roads and cross-country. Kristiansen was the first athlete to win World titles on all three surfaces. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she finished fourth in the first women's Olympic marathon. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she dropped out of the 10,000 metres final while leading. Early in her career, she was also an elite cross country skier, winning several Norwegian titles and a European junior championship.

Career

Kristiansen started her career quite unremarkably, running 2:30 – 2:40 for her first few marathons. She won a medal in the 3000 metres at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics, taking the bronze. It was not until she gave birth to her first son, Gaute, that she began to improve. After winning the Houston Marathon and the London Marathon in 1984, she placed fourth in the first Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles. She also set two track world records in the 5,000 m (14:58.9) and the 10,000 m (30:59.14) at the Bislett Games in Oslo.

In 1985 she won the London Marathon again in a new world record of 2:21:06, smashing Joan Benoit's world record of 2:22:43, set in the Boston Marathon in 1983. Later that year she lost to Joan Benoit in the Chicago Marathon, running 2:23:05 for second place.

1986 was Kristiansen's best year in track. After she won the Boston Marathon in hot conditions, she set a new world record in the 10,000 m (30:13.3), smashing her own world record from 1984. Then she broke the 5,000 m world record, running 14:37.89. After that she broke the half marathon world record in Sandnes, running 1:06:40, but the course was not certified and the record still remained with Joan Benoit. She won the Chicago Marathon, once again in hot and humid conditions, running 2:27:08. She ended the year winning the 10,000 m event at European Championships, running the 2nd fastest time ever (30:23.3) and nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In 1987 Kristiansen attempted to break her marathon world record in London, but she slowed in the second half and won in 2:22:48. She won the first World Championships Women's 10,000 m in Rome, despite a leg injury that hindered her performance.

Healed from the injury, in 1988 she won the London Marathon for the fourth time, finishing in a time of 2:25:41. Despite a 1:09 first half, she slowed dramatically in the second half, however she was still five minutes ahead of any other woman. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, she participated in the 10,000 m, and even though she was the heavy favourite, she dropped out after seven laps with a fractured bone in her foot.

She returned to racing in 1989 with a win in the Boston Marathon, running 2:24:33 despite the heat in the latter stages. She decided to not run any track races that year, but she still won a few road races in Europe. Her final marathon was the 1989 New York City Marathon, which she won in a time of 2:25:30, running away with it from the start. Gradually she raced less and less, despite winning the 1990 City-Pier-City Loop in the Hague. She retired in 1993.

Now she cross country skis often and lives with her two children and husband in Oslo, Norway. Along with Grete Waitz, she opened up a new generation of Norwegian runners. She was known for carrying out a big deal of her training on the treadmill, along with laughing often before a race.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Norway
1980	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:38:45
1981	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:41:34
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:30:08
1982	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:34:26
	European Championships	Athens, Greece	3rd	Marathon	2:36:38
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	5th	Marathon	2:33:36
1983	Houston Marathon	Houston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:33:27
1984	Houston Marathon	Houston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:51
	World Cross Country Championships	New York, United States	4th
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:24:26
	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, United States	4th	Marathon	2:27:14
1985	World Cross Country Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	3rd
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:21:06
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:23:05
1986	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:24:55
	European Championships	Stuttgart, West Germany	1st	10,000 m	30:23.25
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:08
1987	World Cross Country Champiuonships	Warsaw, Poland	3rd
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:22:48
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	10,000 m	31:05.85
	World Road Race Championships	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1st	15 km	47:17
1988	World Road Race Championships	Adelaide, Australia	1st	15 km	48:24
	World Cross Country Championships	Auckland, New Zealand	1st
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:25:41
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	—	10,000 m	DNF
1989	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:24:33
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	1st	Marathon	2:25:30
1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	7th	10,000 m	32:10.75

Note: The 1987 World Road Race Championship was held in November while the 1988 edition was held in March.

World Records

• Broke 5000 m world record with 14:58.89 in Oslo, 28 June 1984 – first woman to run under 15 minutes.
• Broke 5000 m world record with 14:37.33 in Stockholm, 5 August 1986
• Broke 10,000 m world record with 30:59.42 in Oslo, 27 July 1985 – first woman to run under 31 minutes.
• Broke 10,000 m world record with 30:13.74 in Oslo, 5 July 1986
• Broke Marathon world record with 2:21:06 in London, 21 April 1985 – record stood for 13 years.

Other

• 24 individual Norwegian championships
• 1992 Egebergs Ærespris

Personal bests

Distance	Mark	Date	Location
3000 m	8:34.10	13 August 1986	Zurich
5000 m	14:37.33	5 August 1986	Stockholm
10000 m	30:13.74	5 July 1986	Oslo
10 km (road)	30:59	9 April 1989	Boston
15 km (road)	47:17	21 November 1987	Monaco
Half Marathon	1:06:40	19 March 1987	Sandnes
Marathon	2:21:06	21 April 1985	London

External links

• Ingrid Kristiansen Official Site

Records
Preceded by Jan Merrill Mary Decker Zola Budd	Women's 5,000 m World Record Holder 11 July 1981 – 6 September 1981 28 June 1984 – 26 August 1985 5 August 1986 – 22 July 1995	Succeeded by Elena Sipatova Zola Budd Fernanda Ribeiro
Preceded by Joan Benoit	Women's Marathon World Record Holder 21 April 1985 – 19 April 1998	Succeeded by Tegla Loroupe
Preceded by Olga Bondarenko	Women's 10,000 m World Record Holder 27 July 1985 – 8 September 1993	Succeeded by Wang Junxia
Preceded by Joan Benoit	Women's Half Marathon World Record Holder 5 April 1987 – 14 October 2007	Succeeded by Lornah Kiplagat
Awards
Preceded by Birger Ruud	Egebergs Ærespris 1992	Succeeded by Anita Andreassen
Sporting positions
Preceded by Marja Wokke	Egmond Women's Half Marathon Winner 1982	Succeeded by Annie van Stiphout
Preceded by Zola Budd Zola Budd	Women's 5,000 m Best Year Performance 1984 1986	Succeeded by Zola Budd Liz McColgan
Preceded by Carla Beurskens	Zevenheuvelenloop Women's Winner (15 km) 1991	Succeeded by Tegla Loroupe