| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women'sathletics | ||
Representing the United States | ||
| World Women's Road Race Championships | ||
 | 1983 San Diego | 10K race |
 | 1983 San Diego | Team |
| World Cross Country Championships | ||
| 1981 Madrid | Team |
| 1983 Gateshead | Team |
| 1984 East Rutherford | Team |
| 1985 Lisbon | Team |
Betty Jo Geiger (néeSprings; born June 12, 1961) is an American formerlong-distance runner who competed in events ranging from3000-meter run to themarathon.
Her greatest individual success was at the inauguralIAAF World Women's Road Race Championships in 1983, where she was runner-up to Britain'sWendy Sly and led the Americans to the team gold medal.[1] Geiger was a key member of the national team at theIAAF World Cross Country Championships in the 1980s. Her first team medal – a silver – came at the 1981 championships and following that she helped the United States to three consecutive team titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985. She finished in the top ten on each occasion, being the number one American in 1983 and number two American athlete toJan Merrill,Joan Benoit andCathy Branta in the other years. She made one more appearance at the competition in 1986, and also represented her country at theGoodwill Games that year.
She was a four-time national champion, having won the5000-meter run at the1986 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships (in a championship record time),[2] the national10K run three times (1984, 1985, and 1986) and the individual title at theUSA Cross Country Championships.[3] She attendedNorth Carolina State University and won four NCAA Championships for theNC State Wolfpack team: a 5000/10,000 m double at the 1983NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and victories at theNCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 1981 and 1983.[4] She won the Broderick Award (now theHonda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate cross country runner in 1984.[5][6] She was inducted into theNC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.[7]
Geiger competed extensively at professional road races and had wins at thePeachtree Road Race,Freihofer's Run for Women (three times), andGate River Run, as well as runner-up finishes at theFalmouth Road Race andGasparilla Distance Classic.[8] She married her former college coachRollie Geiger.[9] In her youth she won the national junior title over 3000 m and was undefeated inFlorida high school competitions, with 15 state titles forBayshore High School in her nativeBradenton.[10]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | World Cross Country Championships | Madrid, Spain | 6th | Senior race | 14:28 |
| 2nd | Team | 36 pts | |||
| 1983 | World Cross Country Championships | Gateshead, United Kingdom | 5th | Senior race | 14:00 |
| 1st | Team | 31 pts | |||
| World Women's Road Race Championships | San Diego, United States | 2nd | 10 km | 32:23 | |
| 1st | Team | 14 pts | |||
| 1984 | World Cross Country Championships | East Rutherford, United States | 9th | Senior race | 16:20 |
| 1st | Team | 52 pts | |||
| 1985 | World Cross Country Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 9th | Senior race | 15:44 |
| 1st | Team | 42 pts | |||
| 1986 | World Cross Country Championships | Colombier, Switzerland | 35th | Senior race | 15:45.5 |
| 4th | Team | 82 pts | |||
| Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 9th | 5000 m | 15:41.39 |
