Lorraine Moller

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Women’s track and field
Olympic medal record
Bronze	1992 Barcelona	Marathon

Lorraine Mary Moller (born June 1, 1955 in Putaruru) is a former athlete from New Zealand, who competed mainly in the marathon. She represented her native country at four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. Moller won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain.

Apart from her Olympic marathon bronze medal in 1992, Moller built a formidable record as a distance athlete. She represented New Zealand at the 1974 Commonwealth Games, where her fifth place in the 800m was considered an excellent effort for an 18-year-old running novice.

Moller continued to run for New Zealand until the 1996 Atlanta Olympic marathon. She won bronze medals over 1500m and 3000m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, and compiled a good record in road and cross-country running. But it was as a marathon runner that she really shone.

Moller made her marathon debut in 1979, and reeled off eight consecutive marathon victories, and nine from her first ten starts. She is a triple winner of the Osaka Marathon. Moller, Anne Audain and Allison Roe were pioneers for a generation of New Zealand women’s athletes, and were also three of the leading world stars who pushed for above-board prizemoney in track and field. They announced they would accept prizemoney for the 1981 Cascade Runoff in Oregon, a protest at the shamateurism of the time. The controversy their move created helped push athletics into the open era.

Moller has lived in Boulder, Colorado since the early 1980s. She is married to Harlan Smith and has a daughter, Jasmin. Moller remains involved in athletics as a coach.