Joanne Dow
Event: 20km race walk

Born: March 19, 1964, in Manchester, N.H.

Current Residence: Bedford, N.H.

PRs: 20km walk 1:34:36 AR (1998); 10km walk 45:36.92 (1998)

High School: Trinity High School, Manchester, N.H. '82

College: New Hampshire '86

Height: 5-8

Weight: 130

Career Highlights: Best of 45:36.92; 2nd in 3000m at USA Indoor (12:56.38 PR); won USA Champs (47:07); 3rd in Goodwill Games (45:36.92); ranked No. 1 U.S. by Track & Field News.

The Skinny:Ran track as a sprinter in her first two years of high school, but her primary sport was swimming. She swam freestyle for three years at New Hampshire, competing in the NCAA Division II nationals in the relay. She earned a degree in business management and now teaches fitness classes and does personal training. In 1994, while teaching a fitness walking class, she met members of the New England Walkers and became interested in race walking. At a clinic at Niagara Falls, walk expert Martin Rudow told her she had the potential to race with the best women if she decided to train. She won her first national title four years later. Dow says that race walking is "just a piece of my life. The priority is on being a wife and a mom." She's married to Tim Dow; has two children: Hannah (born 1989) and Timmy (born 1992).

Source: USA Track & Field.