Boston Sports

N.H. Woman Earns Spot On U.S. Olympic Track Team

MANCHESTER, N.H. (WBZ) ― Joanne Dow can walk faster than many people can run. After years of training and attempts, her stride is taking her from Manchester, New Hampshire to Beijing, where she'll compete in the Olympic Women's 20 Kilometer Race Walking Event.

The New Hampshire mother of two is 44-years old, which makes her the oldest athlete on the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team. "I'm so excited. It's a dream come true. Something I've been working for solidly for 10 years." She adds, "I'm still pinching myself."

Dow's record in a 20K race is seven-and-a-half minutes per mile. She usually walks 200 strides per minute.

She trains three to four hours a day, on the track and in neighborhoods around Manchester, where she has become a celebrity. Lisa Ford, of Manchester, told WBZ, "She's finally doing it! It's the best. Everyone in the whole community is so happy for her, we couldn't be more thrilled!!!" She calls Dow an inspiration. "When she sets her mind to something she goes it and she does it gracefully and humbly and that's the inspiration."

Dow says her husband and two children have made incredible sacrifices for her career. "My husband and kids have been really the ones who celebrated the triumphs and dealt with the setbacks and disappointments."

She says her daughter, who just graduated as valedictorian from Central High School in Manchester, in particular urged her to keep training for the most recent Olympic trials.

Dow says race walking is very popular in China. "The Chinese women are very fast, so there will be a lot of spectators out on the course. And the nice thing is the course is out on the street. There will be masses of people out there because it's one of the events you don't have to have a ticket for."

Race walking has been a men's Olympic sport since the 1920s, but only became a women's Olympic sport in 1992.

What are the rules? Dow explains, "You have to have one foot on the ground at all times and your knee has to be straight when your heel strikes to differentiate it from running. And we do have judges out on the course to make sure we're legal."

When asked what she'd like other people to learn from her example, she says, "A lot of people have told me (I'm) sort of the poster child for perseverance and never giving up. So I hope people would take that from all of my years putting into this and working toward it, and now after 14 years of race walking, achieving a goal."

Joanne's race is August 21 at 9 a.m. Beijing, which is 9 a.m. on August 20 here on the east coast.

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