USATF ATHLETE BIOGRAPHY

Linda Somers-Smith

LINDA SOMERS-SMITH

Born: May 7, 1961 at Bitburg AFB, Germany

Current Residence: San Luis Obispo, Ca

PR: Marathon 2:30:06 (1996)

High School: Indio (Ca) '79

College: UC Davis '83

Height: 5-4

Weight: 105

Coach: Sue Williams

Agent: self

Club: Asics International

Somers is the rare Olympic runner who never ran track in high schoolher first love was tennis, and she went out for the UC Davis tennis team as a frosh"I was frustrated because it rained all the time, so I started jogging to stay in shape"eventually a PE teacher told her to consider going out for cross country, which she did as a juniora year later, she ran a 34:36.3 on the track for 10,000mearned a degree in economics at Davis, and followed with a J.D. in 1986married in 1997 to Scott Smith, a former triathlete who sometimes trains with herin 1998 she adopted her 13-year-old niece, Monicaworks full-time as a lawyer, specializing in general business law and estate planningshe explains that since 1996, "I've taken some down time on running, and experimented a bit with my training. I haven't had a lot of good luck there. Running is not the priority in my life right now. When I'm out there, I still take it seriously and put a lot of effort into it"...is gearing up for the 2000 Trials, a challenge still inspired by her Olympic race in 1996, when she tore her Achilles in the Olympic marathon and still finished 31st: "It's a matter of working yourself so hard that you're at the point of injury. It's a balance, and so much of it is luck: whoever wakes up feeling good that morning."

1999: best of

1998: best of 2:34:21 3rd at Houston (2:38:52)9th at Chicago (2:34:21)ranked #4 U.S. by T&FN.

1997: best of 2:31:4914th in London (2:31:49)ranked #3 U.S. by T&FN.

1996: best of 2:30:062nd in Olympic Trials (2:30:06 PR)31st in Olympic Games (2:36:58; Achilles tear in race ranked #3 U.S. by T&FN.

1995: best of 2:34:3011th in Boston (2:34:30)knee surgery7th in World Champs (2:32:12, short course) ranked #1 U.S. by T&FN.

1994: best of 2:33:42won Grandmas (2:33:42)ranked #3 U.S. by T&FN.

1993: best of 2:34:11did not finish Houstonwon Long Beach2nd in Chicago (2:34:25)won California International (2:34:11)ranked #3 U.S. by T&FN.

1992: best of 2:37:4116th in Olympic Trials (2:39:50)won Chicago (2:37:41).

1991: best of 2:38:458th in Twin Cities (2:38:45).

1990: best of

1989: best of 2:33:372nd in California International Marathon (2:33:37)ranked #10 U.S. by T&FN.