Janice Melbourne Merrill (born June 18, 1956 in New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

) is a retired female middle distance runner

Running

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

 from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She was the dominant long distance runner of the middle 1970's, a notable front runner, her uniform with the large "M" on her chest would usually break away to an insurmountable lead in domestic meets. She was equally untouchable in self-promotion or dealing with the media, often deferring to her coach, Norm Higgins. At various points in time she held the American record in the women's 1500 metres (4:02.61 set on July 29, 1976) during the 1976 Summer Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, the 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres. She lost other record opportunities because the only times she could get a decent race in the United States was against men.

She won the U.S. title at 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

 twice outdoors, 3000 metres 4 times, twice in the indoor mile, twice in the indoor 2 mile and twice in Cross Country.

Merrill is now married hyphenating her name with Morin, and is an assistant coach at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

.

Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Extra
Representing the
1976	Olympic Games 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...	Montreal, Canada	8th	1500 m
1978	World Cross Country Championships 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 6th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 26, 1978 in Glasgow, Scotland.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...	Glasgow, Scotland	7th	Long Race Individual
			2nd	Long Race Team
1979	World Cross Country Championships 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 7th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 25, 1979 in Limerick, Ireland.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...	Limerick, Ireland	7th	Long Race Individual
			1st	Long Race Team
1980	World Cross Country Championships 1980 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 8th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 9, 1980 in Paris, France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...	Paris, France	5th	Long Race Individual
			3rd	Long Race Team
1981	World Cross Country Championships 1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 9th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 28, 1981 in Madrid, Spain. There were a total number of 457 participating athletes from 39 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...	Madrid, Spain	2nd	Long Race Individual
			2nd	Long Race Team
1983	World Cross Country Championships 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 11th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 20, 1983 in Gateshead, England. There were a total number of 431 participating athletes from 33 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...	Gateshead, England	13th	Long Race Individual
			1st	Long Race Team