Career

Kristiansen started her career quite unremarkably, running 2:30 - 2:40 for her first few marathons. She won a medal in the 3000 metres at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics, taking the bronze. It was not until she gave birth to her first son, Gaute, that she began to improve. After winning the Houston Marathon and the London Marathon in 1984, she placed fourth in the first Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles. She also set two track world records in the 5,000 m (14:58.9) and the 10,000 m (30:59.14) at the Bislett Games in Oslo.

In 1985 she won the London Marathon again in a new world record of 2:21:06, smashing Joan Benoit's world record of 2:22:43, set in the Boston Marathon in 1983. Later that year she lost to Joan Benoit in the Chicago Marathon, running 2:23:05 for second place.

1986 was Kristiansen's best year in track. After she won the Boston Marathon in hot conditions, she set a new world record in the 10,000 m (30:13.3), smashing her own world record from 1984. Then she broke the 5,000 m world record, running 14:37.89. After that she broke the half marathon world record in Sandnes, running 1:06:40, but the course was not certified and the record still remained with Joan Benoit. She won the Chicago Marathon, once again in hot and humid conditions, running 2:27:08. She ended the year winning the 10,000 m event at European Championships, running the 2nd fastest time ever (30:23.3) and nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In 1987 Kristiansen attempted to break her marathon world record in London, but she slowed in the second half and won in 2:22:48. She won the first World Championships Women's 10,000 m in Rome, despite a leg injury that hindered her performance.

Healed from the injury, in 1988 she won the London Marathon for the fourth time, finishing in a time of 2:25:41. Despite a 1:09 first half, she slowed dramatically in the second half, however she was still five minutes ahead of any other woman. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, she participated in the 10,000 m, and even though she was the heavy favourite, she dropped out after seven laps with a fractured bone in her foot.

She returned to racing in 1989 with a win in the Boston Marathon, running 2:24:33 despite the heat in the latter stages. She decided to not run any track races that year, but she still won a few road races in Europe. Her final marathon was the 1989 New York City Marathon, which she won in a time of 2:25:30, running away with it from the start. Gradually she raced less and less, despite winning the 1990 City-Pier-City Loop in The Hague. She retired in 1993.

Now she cross country skis often and lives with her two children and husband in Oslo, Norway. Along with Grete Waitz, she opened up a new generation of Norwegian runners. Both set remarkable achievements in the womens long distance running but never won an Olympic Gold medal. It has to be said, that the Marathon became an Olympic discipline for women in 1984, the 5000 m in 1996 and the 10000 m in 1988. She was known for carrying out a big deal of her training on the treadmill, along with laughing often before a race.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Norway
1980	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:38:45
1981	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:41:34
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:30:08
1982	Stockholm Marathon	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Marathon	2:34:26
	European Championships	Athens, Greece	3rd	Marathon	2:36:38
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	5th	Marathon	2:33:36
1983	Houston Marathon	Houston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:33:27
1984	Houston Marathon	Houston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:51
	World Cross Country Championships	New York, United States	4th
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:24:26
	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, United States	4th	Marathon	2:27:14
1985	World Cross Country Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	3rd
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:21:06
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:23:05
1986	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:24:55
	European Championships	Stuttgart, West Germany	1st	10,000 m	30:23.25
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:08
1987	World Cross Country Champiuonships	Warsaw, Poland	3rd
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:22:48
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	10,000 m	31:05.85
	World Road Race Championships	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1st	15 km	47:17
1988	World Road Race Championships	Adelaide, Australia	1st	15 km	48:24
	World Cross Country Championships	Auckland, New Zealand	1st
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:25:41
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	—	10,000 m	DNF
1989	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:24:33
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	1st	Marathon	2:25:30
1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	7th	10,000 m	32:10.75

Note: The 1987 World Road Race Championship was held in November while the 1988 edition was held in March.

World Records

• Broke 5000 m world record with 14:58.89 in Oslo, 28 June 1984 - first woman to run under 15 minutes.
• Broke 5000 m world record with 14:37.33 in Stockholm, 5 August 1986
• Broke 10,000 m world record with 30:59.42 in Oslo, 27 July 1985 - first woman to run under 31 minutes.
• Broke 10,000 m world record with 30:13.74 in Oslo, 5 July 1986
• Broke Marathon world record with 2:21:06 in London, 21 April 1985 - record stood for 13 years.

Other

• 24 individual Norwegian championships
• 1992 Egebergs Ærespris

Personal bests

Distance	Mark	Date	Location
3000 m	8:34.10	13 August 1986	Zurich
5000 m	14:37.33	5 August 1986	Stockholm
10000 m	30:13.74	5 July 1986	Oslo
10 km (road)	30:59	9 April 1989	Boston
15 km (road)	47:17	21 November 1987	Monaco
Half Marathon	1:06:40	19 March 1987	Sandnes
Marathon	2:21:06	21 April 1985	London

[ Source: Wikipedia ]