Anne Marie Letko (married name Lauck; born March 7, 1969, in Rochester, New York) is an American long-distance runner who competed in the Summer Olympics in 1996 (10th place in marathon) and 2000 (5000m).
Anne Marie Letko is the daughter of Jim and Sandy Letko. [1] She started running at the age of 14 when she accompanied her father on jogs around the block. [2] Letko claims that she became hooked on running after winning her age division in the Hampton Classic 7-miler. [2] Lynne Lauck, her future mother-in-law, was the overall female winner in the same race. [2] In high school, Letko finished 18th at the 1986 Kinney Cross Country Championships. [3] She was two-time New Jersey State Champion in the indoor 3200 meter run [4] and her mark of 10:39.6 was a state record from 1986 to 2001. [5]
In 1991, Letko won the 10,000 metres at the World University Games in Sheffield, England, in what was a personal best for her at the time of 32:26.87. [6] Her 31:37.26 at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, was the fourth fastest 10,000 by an American woman. [7] In 1994, Letko won USA 15K Championships at the newly named Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida. [8] [9]
Dehydration forced Letko to drop out of her debut marathon - the New York City Marathon - in 1993. [10] She returned the following year, coached by for two-time NYC marathon champion Tom Fleming, to finish third with a time of 2:30:19. [7] [11] Letko qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, with a third-place finish of 2:31:18 at the United States Olympic women's marathon trials the preceding February in Columbia, South Carolina. [12] She was the top American woman in Atlanta finishing in 10th place with a time of 2:31:30. [13]
Letko won Spokane, Washington's Lilac Bloomsday Run in 1993, Atlanta's historic Peachtree Road Race in 1994, [7] and has competed in San Francisco's Bay to Breakers multiple times, finishing third in 1994, [14] second in 1996, [15] and third in 1998. [11] She is the last American to win the Crim 10 mile race in Flint, Michigan (1994). [16] [17]
A native of Glen Gardner, New Jersey, [18] Letko graduated from North Hunterdon High School in Clinton Township in 1987. [19] In 1992, she earned a B.A. in English from Rutgers University. [14] [20] She competed under the name Anne Marie Lauck after she married Jim Lauck in 1995. [14] Jim Lauck later became a chiropractor. [11] She was previously coached by Alberto Salazar. [11]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the United States | |||||
1991 | Universiade | Sheffield, United Kingdom | 1st | 10,000 m | 32:36.87 |
World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | — | 10,000 m | DNF | |
1992 | World Cup | Havana, Cuba | 5th | 10,000 m | 34:14.18 |
1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 8th | 10,000 m | 31:37.36 |
1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 14th | 10,000 m | 32:22.54 |
1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 10th | Marathon | 2:31:30 |
2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 32nd (h) | 5000 m | 15:47.78 |
anne marie letko parents.