The first winner of the female race in the history of the Comrades marathon, Betty Cavanagh, has been hailed as a woman who was ahead of her time. Cavanagh was the first woman to cross the finish line when the ultra-marathon was officially opened to women and people of all races in 1975.
She ran the Comrades unofficially the four previous years.
Obituary: Betty Cavanagh (Comrades No.462) pic.twitter.com/ooHOtEzB1d
— ComradesRace (@ComradesRace) January 28, 2020
An intimate memorial service has been held for Cavanagh in Pietermaritzburg, after she passed away at the age of 88.
Her husband, Tony Cavanagh, remembers the 1975 race when he entered the final stretch next to his wife.
“The ovation went up for her because it was announced that she was the first woman to officially win the Comrades. They pushed me to the side and they pushed her into the VIP section. And then, as I say what you call retribution, a couple of years later when I ran my 10th Comrades, we ran together. When they announced I was coming in for my green number, my 10th number, then all the cheering went for me and she was shunted to the side.”
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