6 ~ Six Who Sat

In October of 1972, at the New York City Marathon Lynn Blackstone, Jane Muhrcke, Liz Franceschini, Pat Barrett, Nina Kuscsik and Cathy Miller all sat to change the Amateurs Athletic Union stance on women running in marathons.

When the gun fired to start the women's race, six female competitors sat down on the starting line in protest. While the A.A.U .allowed women to participate, they had to start their marathon 10 minutes before the men or in a different area altogether. The six women sat on the starting line for those 10 minutes to protest the unequal treatment. The photograph of the runners was printed across four columns of The Times, and the story spread. The A.A.U., embarrassed by the sudden news media onslaught, scrapped the “separate but equal” rules soon after.

Source: nytimes.com & irishtimes.com