Patrice Donnelly

Patrice Donnelly (Patrice Michelle "Pat" Donnelly; born April 30, 1950, San Diego, California) is a retired American track and field athlete, known primarily for hurdling. Later she also acted in films.

Biography

Donnelly attended Grossmont College. She was a high school PE teacher at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, CA.

In 1971 she was Miss La Mesa.

After the 1976 Olympic Games she married shot putter Peter Shmock. After divorcing Shmock, she married sprinter Mark Lutz, ex-spouse of distance runner Francie Larrieu.

Career in hurdling

Once the fourth-ranked hurdler in the world, Donnelly set the college record for the women's 100 metre hurdles at 13.5 seconds in 1970.

She was on the 1975 All-America team for the 100 meter hurdles. At the 1975 Pan American Games she placed fourth.

Donnelly attended the 1976 Summer Olympics as a 100-meter hurdler for the United States, but was eliminated in the heats, missing the semi-final by 0.01 s.

Career in film

Donnelly's film debut was in the 1982 film Personal Best, wherein she played an Olympic pentathlete. She also served as a technical advisor on the film. She also went on to play Danielle, the stern assistant coach in the 1986 movie American Anthem.

She helped Billy Crudup train for Without Limits, a film about Steve Prefontaine's life.