At 77, she's as fit as at 25. What her body tells us about ageing.
She has broken world women's records in the 75-79 age group for every distance and, at times, beaten the fastest men in that age group. According to unofficial results, her Boston time was 4 hours, 27 minutes and 17 seconds. It was very slow for Rice, but she still placed first in her age group.
Washington Post
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Sydney Morning Herald
04-08-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Maradona, Mourinho … and the Panthers trainer. Welcome to sporting skulduggery
And we cannot omit Jose Mourinho, who trained his ball boys to slow down games and once hid in a laundry basket to sneak into the Chelsea dressing room during a touchline ban. Nor the NHL's unforgettable 'Fog Game' of May 1975, when the Buffalo Sabres used the pre-game entertainment smoke machines to raise the arena humidity and fog the rink so the Boston Bruins struggled to see (and lost). Cuban Rosie Ruiz is another step up still, for hopping onto the Boston Marathon course near the end and briefly being declared the female winner. Likewise, rugby union's Bloodgate scandal, when Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harlequins to make another substitution late in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster. This stuff is premeditated, like the drone spying by Canadian football officials in the women's Paris Olympics tournament, and the even more serious ball-tampering, match-fixing and doping. When it comes to the lower-grade stuff, though, perhaps gamesmanship is just a more accepted element of some sports than it is others? And perceptions of seriousness partly depend on what's at stake, in this case, the Titans battling against the wooden spoon and Des Hasler battling for his job? Further, do bundle deals count for more? Apparently so, based on the NRL's statement that Penrith's 'proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers'. There are four controversies in as many years, including in May when Shane Elford was given a one-match ban (and the club fined $10,000) for squirting water on the ball. And here's an outrageous thought: is likeability a factor? Are Penrith's trainers just not charming enough to get away with it? Maybe, just maybe, they lack the Alfie Langer charisma? Johnathan Thurston remembers that particular twinkle in the eye well from the closing stages of the 2015 grand final. North Queensland, trailing by four points as the final siren sounded, scored at the death to level the score at 16-16, setting the scene for Thurston to slot a title-winning conversion. Langer, the Brisbane Broncos great turned club water carrier, made a beeline for the right touchline where the Cowboys halfback was lining up his kick. 'I remember grabbing the ball, and I was getting towards my set-up when Alfie Langer runs past me, and he goes 'I'll give you $500 if you miss',' Thurston told the Bloke In A Bar podcast in 2023. Loading Thurston hit the post, though insisted the sledge did not affect his concentration, and went on to nail a golden-point field goal that secured the Cowboys' maiden premiership. He revealed he did not demand the $500 Langer promised. Even if he had, it would have been a bargain compared to the $50,000 the Panthers now owe.
The Age
04-08-2025
- The Age
Maradona, Mourinho … and the Panthers trainer. Welcome to sporting skulduggery
And we cannot omit Jose Mourinho, who trained his ball boys to slow down games and once hid in a laundry basket to sneak into the Chelsea dressing room during a touchline ban. Nor the NHL's unforgettable 'Fog Game' of May 1975, when the Buffalo Sabres used the pre-game entertainment smoke machines to raise the arena humidity and fog the rink so the Boston Bruins struggled to see (and lost). Cuban Rosie Ruiz is another step up still, for hopping onto the Boston Marathon course near the end and briefly being declared the female winner. Likewise, rugby union's Bloodgate scandal, when Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harlequins to make another substitution late in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster. This stuff is premeditated, like the drone spying by Canadian football officials in the women's Paris Olympics tournament, and the even more serious ball-tampering, match-fixing and doping. When it comes to the lower-grade stuff, though, perhaps gamesmanship is just a more accepted element of some sports than it is others? And perceptions of seriousness partly depend on what's at stake, in this case, the Titans battling against the wooden spoon and Des Hasler battling for his job? Further, do bundle deals count for more? Apparently so, based on the NRL's statement that Penrith's 'proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers'. There are four controversies in as many years, including in May when Shane Elford was given a one-match ban (and the club fined $10,000) for squirting water on the ball. And here's an outrageous thought: is likeability a factor? Are Penrith's trainers just not charming enough to get away with it? Maybe, just maybe, they lack the Alfie Langer charisma? Johnathan Thurston remembers that particular twinkle in the eye well from the closing stages of the 2015 grand final. North Queensland, trailing by four points as the final siren sounded, scored at the death to level the score at 16-16, setting the scene for Thurston to slot a title-winning conversion. Langer, the Brisbane Broncos great turned club water carrier, made a beeline for the right touchline where the Cowboys halfback was lining up his kick. 'I remember grabbing the ball, and I was getting towards my set-up when Alfie Langer runs past me, and he goes 'I'll give you $500 if you miss',' Thurston told the Bloke In A Bar podcast in 2023. Loading Thurston hit the post, though insisted the sledge did not affect his concentration, and went on to nail a golden-point field goal that secured the Cowboys' maiden premiership. He revealed he did not demand the $500 Langer promised. Even if he had, it would have been a bargain compared to the $50,000 the Panthers now owe.
The Advertiser
17-06-2025
- The Advertiser
Running pioneer, Boston winner Nina Kuscsik dead at 86
Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women's inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to race, has died aged 86. A funeral home notice said Kuscsik died June 8 of respiratory failure after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. "Nina was more than a pioneer, determined women's running advocate, and celebrated icon within the sport," the Boston Athletic Association said in a social media post. "To us, she was a friend who will always be remembered for her kindness, joyful laugh and smile. "Nina held the distinct honour of winning the 1972 Boston Marathon, and recognised the platform that came with that triumphant moment, inspiring thousands of women to reach their own goals and finish lines in the decades since." Kuscsik graduated from high school at 16, studied nursing for two years and received her licence at 18 after petitioning to change a New York law that required nurses to be 21. She won state championships in speed skating, roller skating and cycling – all in the same year -- before turning to running when her bicycle broke. She ran the Boston Marathon four times from 1968-71 — before women were officially welcomed, a period retroactively recognised as the Pioneer Era — and then won the first official women's race in 1972. She was also the first woman to enter the New York race, in 1970, and was one of the "Six who Sat" – six women who refused to start the '72 New York City Marathon for 10 minutes to protest an Amateur Athletic Union rule that the women's race had to be separate from the men's. She won that year and the next year as well. She later served on AAU and USA Track and Field committees drafting rules for women's running. In addition to the more than 80 marathons she ran over her lifetime, Kuscsik set the American record for the 50-mile run in 1977 and won the Empire State Building Run-Up three straight years from 1979–81. She was inducted into the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999. Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women's inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to race, has died aged 86. A funeral home notice said Kuscsik died June 8 of respiratory failure after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. "Nina was more than a pioneer, determined women's running advocate, and celebrated icon within the sport," the Boston Athletic Association said in a social media post. "To us, she was a friend who will always be remembered for her kindness, joyful laugh and smile. "Nina held the distinct honour of winning the 1972 Boston Marathon, and recognised the platform that came with that triumphant moment, inspiring thousands of women to reach their own goals and finish lines in the decades since." Kuscsik graduated from high school at 16, studied nursing for two years and received her licence at 18 after petitioning to change a New York law that required nurses to be 21. She won state championships in speed skating, roller skating and cycling – all in the same year -- before turning to running when her bicycle broke. She ran the Boston Marathon four times from 1968-71 — before women were officially welcomed, a period retroactively recognised as the Pioneer Era — and then won the first official women's race in 1972. She was also the first woman to enter the New York race, in 1970, and was one of the "Six who Sat" – six women who refused to start the '72 New York City Marathon for 10 minutes to protest an Amateur Athletic Union rule that the women's race had to be separate from the men's. She won that year and the next year as well. She later served on AAU and USA Track and Field committees drafting rules for women's running. In addition to the more than 80 marathons she ran over her lifetime, Kuscsik set the American record for the 50-mile run in 1977 and won the Empire State Building Run-Up three straight years from 1979–81. She was inducted into the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999. Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women's inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to race, has died aged 86. A funeral home notice said Kuscsik died June 8 of respiratory failure after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. "Nina was more than a pioneer, determined women's running advocate, and celebrated icon within the sport," the Boston Athletic Association said in a social media post. "To us, she was a friend who will always be remembered for her kindness, joyful laugh and smile. "Nina held the distinct honour of winning the 1972 Boston Marathon, and recognised the platform that came with that triumphant moment, inspiring thousands of women to reach their own goals and finish lines in the decades since." Kuscsik graduated from high school at 16, studied nursing for two years and received her licence at 18 after petitioning to change a New York law that required nurses to be 21. She won state championships in speed skating, roller skating and cycling – all in the same year -- before turning to running when her bicycle broke. She ran the Boston Marathon four times from 1968-71 — before women were officially welcomed, a period retroactively recognised as the Pioneer Era — and then won the first official women's race in 1972. She was also the first woman to enter the New York race, in 1970, and was one of the "Six who Sat" – six women who refused to start the '72 New York City Marathon for 10 minutes to protest an Amateur Athletic Union rule that the women's race had to be separate from the men's. She won that year and the next year as well. She later served on AAU and USA Track and Field committees drafting rules for women's running. In addition to the more than 80 marathons she ran over her lifetime, Kuscsik set the American record for the 50-mile run in 1977 and won the Empire State Building Run-Up three straight years from 1979–81. She was inducted into the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999. Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women's inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to race, has died aged 86. A funeral home notice said Kuscsik died June 8 of respiratory failure after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. "Nina was more than a pioneer, determined women's running advocate, and celebrated icon within the sport," the Boston Athletic Association said in a social media post. "To us, she was a friend who will always be remembered for her kindness, joyful laugh and smile. "Nina held the distinct honour of winning the 1972 Boston Marathon, and recognised the platform that came with that triumphant moment, inspiring thousands of women to reach their own goals and finish lines in the decades since." Kuscsik graduated from high school at 16, studied nursing for two years and received her licence at 18 after petitioning to change a New York law that required nurses to be 21. She won state championships in speed skating, roller skating and cycling – all in the same year -- before turning to running when her bicycle broke. She ran the Boston Marathon four times from 1968-71 — before women were officially welcomed, a period retroactively recognised as the Pioneer Era — and then won the first official women's race in 1972. She was also the first woman to enter the New York race, in 1970, and was one of the "Six who Sat" – six women who refused to start the '72 New York City Marathon for 10 minutes to protest an Amateur Athletic Union rule that the women's race had to be separate from the men's. She won that year and the next year as well. She later served on AAU and USA Track and Field committees drafting rules for women's running. In addition to the more than 80 marathons she ran over her lifetime, Kuscsik set the American record for the 50-mile run in 1977 and won the Empire State Building Run-Up three straight years from 1979–81. She was inducted into the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999.
