50 Iowa moments since Title IX: First women from Iowa track and field, swimming and diving reach Olympics in 1996

Editor’s note: This is 14th in a series counting down the Top 50 moments in Iowa Hawkeyes women’s athletics history in the 50 days leading up to the 50th anniversary of Title IX in June.

Iowa’s track and field and swimming and diving programs have seen plenty of former athletes go on to the Olympic stage.

But the first 36 occasions were all on the men’s side.

That changed in 1996 with marathon runner Jenny Spangler and swimmer Loredana Zisu.

Spangler, who helped Iowa win a Big Ten cross country title more than a decade earlier, earned the spot after winning the U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in 1996 on a challenging course in Columbia, S.C.

“I honestly never believed I would be in the top three, let alone win it,” said Spangler, who didn’t come to the realization she was going to win until the 24th mile of the 26.2-mile race.

She wasn’t the only one taken aback by her success. The TV commentators called her a “big surprise” while praising her “determination and focus.” Her parents were surprised, too.

“They’re watching a little bit on TV at their hotel, and all of a sudden my dad is like, ‘We better get to the finish line,’” Spangler told The Gazette. “‘I think she’s going to win.’”

Spangler suffered an injury at the Olympics and did not finish the race, but her 1996 experience “changed her life forever.” She now is a running coach.

Zisu, meanwhile, competed in four events for Romania in Atlanta — the 800-meter freestyle relay, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter medley relay.

The 800 freestyle relay was her best event with a seventh-place finish.

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