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Bobbi Gibb Unveils Self-Sculpted Statue Near Boston Marathon Start

The bronze signals how her 1966 run helped open the course to women.

Overview

  • The new bronze on Hopkinton Town Green is the first statue of a woman on the Boston Marathon route.
  • Gibb created the piece herself, showing her in Bermuda shorts, a bathing suit top, and nurse’s flats.
  • It stands a few steps from the starting line to greet more than 30,000 runners, including over 14,000 women.
  • Gibb first applied to run in 1966, was told women were not “physiologically able,” and ran the full course anyway.
  • She finished in 3:21:40, ran again the next two years, and the Boston Athletic Association now counts those as Pioneer Era wins.