Benita Willis

Benita Jaye Willis (born on 6 May 1979 in Mackay, Queensland) is an Australian long-distance runner, who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Her foremost achievement is a gold medal in the long race at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She has also won team medals at that competition on two occasions. She has competed at the Summer Olympics four times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) and has twice represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games (2002, 2006).

Benita Willis
London 2012 Olympics
Personal information
Birth nameBenita Jaye Willis
Born (1979-05-06) 6 May 1979
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Marathon
Medal record
World Cross Country Championships
2004 BrusselsLong race
World Half Marathon Championships
2003 VilamouraHalf marathon

At the 2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships she won the bronze medal with a time of 1:09:26 hours. In 2004, she won the 8K at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and also the women's half marathon title at the Great North Run. She was 24th in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games. At the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships she won her second career medal at the event by coming fourth in the short race and helping the Australian women to the team bronze medal. She set a time of 2:22:36 at the 2006 Chicago Marathon, a new Australian national record and an Oceania area record.[1] She won the Berlin Half Marathon in 2007 in a personal best time of 1:08.28 hours. Her third international cross country medal came at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships as she finished eleventh in the long race to lead Australia to third on the team podium.

She finished third at the 2010 Great Ireland Run, recording a time of 34:28.[2] In spite of a break of over three years without competing over the distance, she was the runner-up at the 2012 Houston Marathon with a time 2:28:24 hours (within the Olympic qualifying standard).[3]

Willis was a training partner of Australian distance star Craig Mottram.

Achievements
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Australia
1998 World Junior Championships Annecy, France 7th 1500m 4:16.75
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 6th (heats) 5000 m 15:21:37 min
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 6th 3000 m 8:42.75 min
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 12th 5000 m 15:36.75 min
Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 4th 5000 m 15:22.31 min
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom 7th (heats) 1500 m 4:24.43 min
6th 5000 m 15:26.55 min
IAAF World Cup Madrid, Spain 4th 5000 m 15:20.83 min
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 7th 3000 m 8:51.62 min
World Championships Paris, France 8th 10,000 m 30:37.68 min
World Half Marathon Championships Vilamoura, Portugal 3rd Half marathon 1:09:26
2004 World Cross Country Championships Brussels, Belgium 1st Long race (8 km) 27:17
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 24th 10,000 m 32:32.01 min
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 19th 10,000 m 31:55.15 min
2006 World Cross Country Championships Fukuoka, Japan 4th Short race (4 km) 12:55
3rd Short team race 69 pts
Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 4th 10,000 m 31:58.08 min
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 17th 10,000 m 32:55.94 min
2008 World Cross Country Championships Edinburgh, Scotland 11th Long race (7.905 km) 25:56
3rd Long team race 84 pts
Olympic Games Beijing, PR China 21st Marathon 2:32:06
2012 Olympic Games London, England 100th Marathon 2:49:38

Circuit wins

Recognition

In 2018, inducted into Australia Hall of Fame.[4]

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References
  1. iaaf.org - Area Records - Outdoor - Oceania - Women
  2. Fagan and Murray nab 10Km victories in Dublin. IAAF (2010-04-19). Retrieved on 2010-04-24.
  3. Jufar sizzles 2:06:51 as records tumble at Houston Marathon. IAAF (2012-01-16). Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  4. "This year's Hall of Fame inductee is @BenitaWillis". Athletiucs Australia Twitter. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
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