Liz McColgan of Scotland raced to victory at the 1991 New York City Marathon in her marathon debut in 2:27:24, more than three minutes faster than any other woman had run their marathon debut at the time. She earned a large medal haul in the 10,000 meters during the span of her career, including silver at the Seoul 1988 Olympics, gold at the 1991 World Championships, and two golds at the Commonwealth Games.

McColgan also won the 1992 World Championships Half Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon, and 1996 London Marathon.