Cheryl Bridges
{{short description|American long-distance runner}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cheryl Bridges
| birth_date = December 25, 1947
| birth_place = Indiana, U.S.
| nationality = American
| education = Indiana State University
| occupation = American long-distance runner
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
Cheryl Bridges, now Cheryl Treworgy, is an American former long-distance runner who once held the American and world record in the marathon, racing in the 1960s and 1970s. She was the first women runner to be on the cover of a running magazine.{{cite news|accessdate=2008-08-16|url=http://jabbour.org/19990208.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040717225223/http://jabbour.org/19990208.html|archive-date=July 17, 2004|title=Cheryl Bridges — A Historical Figure|author=Jabbour, Kamal|date=February 8, 1999|work=The Post-Standard}}
Biography
Cheryl Bridges, nee Pedlow,{{Cite news |last=Amey |first=Andy |date= |title=Vigo Legends: Bridges was a pioneer at ISU and in women's sports |language=en |work=The Tribune-Star |url=https://www.tribstar.com/sports/vigo-legends-bridges-was-a-pioneer-at-isu-and-in-womens-sports/article_024db67a-198b-54e1-9f6e-683fe6a2f5e5.html |access-date=2022-02-04}} was born December 25, 1947, in Indiana. She began her running career as a sophomore at North Central High School in Indianapolis.{{Cite news |last=Wooten |first=Eddie |title=Q&A: Saxapahaw's Cheryl Treworgy, mother of Olympian Shalane Flanagan and former marathon world record-holder |language=en |url=https://greensboro.com/blogs/wooten_running_shorts/q-a-saxapahaws-cheryl-treworgy-mother-of-olympian-shalane-flanagan-and-former-marathon-world-record/article_8989d0ca-6162-11e6-a61a-87e0d9c75852.html |access-date=2022-02-04}} In her senior year in high school, she competed in the national cross-country championships.
In 1966, she became the first female athlete in the U.S. to receive an athletic scholarship to a public university, Indiana State University, who did not have a women's program when Bridges enrolled. She graduated in three years with a degree in physical education.
In 1969, she finished fourth in the World Cross Country Championships in Scotland.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071016102245/http://mypage.bluewin.ch/tomtytom/iccu/wxc_SW1969S.html International Cross Country Championships 4 km CC Women's race results, March 22, 1969] She set the U.S. records in the 3 mile and 5,000 meter distances, after which she was coached by Bill Dellinger. In 1971, she finished 3rd in the U.S. cross country championship.
On December 7, 1971, Bridges ran her first marathon, finishing the Culver City Marathon in a then-world record time of 2:49:40, becoming the first woman to break 2:50:00 in the marathon.{{Cite news |last=Burfoot |first=Amby |date=2017-11-09 |title=Shaking, Yelling, Bawling: Shalane Flanagan’s Parents Relive Their Daughter’s Historic Victory |language=en-US |work=Runners World |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20863403/shaking-yelling-bawling-shalane-flanagans-parents-relive-their-daughters-historic-victory/ |access-date=2022-02-04}}{{cite web
|accessdate=2008-08-16
|url=http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/ctreworgy.html
|title=Interview: Cheryl Treworgy
|work=Fast Women Interviews
|publisher=New York Roadrunners
|date=January 16, 2001
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828023125/http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/ctreworgy.html
|archivedate=2008-08-28
}}
She was inducted into the Indiana Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 1983, the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame in 1987.
She is the mother of Shalane Flanagan.Schonbrun, Zach, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/sports/shalane-flanagan.html "Shalane Flanagan Solves N.Y.C. Marathon for American Women"], New York Times, November 5, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
References
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{{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} Elizabeth Bonner|title=Women's Marathon World Record Holder|years=December 5, 1971 – December 2, 1973|after={{flagicon|USA}} Michiko Gorman}}
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Category:American female long-distance runners
Category:Track and field athletes from Indiana
Category:21st-century American women
Category:20th-century American sportswomen
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