Seidler, Maren
Track and Field
b. June 11, 1952, Brooklyn, NY
Competing in the shotput for the first time in 1966, just before she turned 14, Seidler set a national age group record with a distance six feet farther than any other competitor.
Seidler dominated the U. S. women's shotput for more than a decade, winning national championships in 1967, 1968, and from 1972 through 1980. At fifteen in 1967, she was the youngest athlete ever to win the national title in any track and field event.
In 1974, Seidler set her first U. S. record with a distance of 56 feet, 7 inches. She eventually extended that to 62-7 3/4 in 1979. The record was broken in 1987, but it remains the second best ever by an American woman.