“The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well,” — The Olympic Creed.
HELENA — In 1980, four women from Montana qualified for the Summer Olympics in track and field events.
The women: Julie Brown, Billings, class of 1973 Billings Senior; Lorna Griffin, Corvallis, class of 1974 Corvallis High; Pamela Spencer, Great Falls, class of 1975 Great Falls High; and Mary Osborne (Andrews), class of 1979, Billings West.
Montana’s four Olympians in 1980 at the White House.
In the field events, Griffin, Spencer and Osborne seized four out of 18 possible places, which accounted for 22% of the total places for the U.S. team. Montana’s population was 1/339th of the entire United States.
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Griffin threw the discus 197 feet, 6 inches for a first-place finish, an American Trials record for women. She also competed in the shot put and earned third place at 52-1½ inches.
