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Alice Coachman

Great Olympic Athlete



Choosing to stay largely out of the spotlight in later years, Coachman, nonetheless, was happy to grant media interviews in advance of the 100th anniversary modern Olympic games in 1996, held in Atlanta. She told reporters then that her mother had taught her to remain humble because, as she told William C. Rhoden of the New York Times in 1995, "The people you pass on the ladder will be the same people you'll be with when the ladder comes down."



Chronology

1923 Born November 9 in Albany, Georgia
1996 Founds Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation

Awards and Accomplishments

1939 Wins her first Amateur Athletic Union competition
1939-48 Wins national high jump championship every year
1946 Named to the women's All-America track and field team for 1945
1946 Becomes first African-American woman selected for an Olympic team
1948 Wins gold medal in the high jump at the Olympics, becoming the first black woman to win Olympic gold
1975 Inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame
1996 Honored as one of the 100 Greatest Olympic Athletes

She also advised young people with a dream not to let obstacles discourage them. Instead, she advised, listen to that inner voice that won't take "no" for an answer. "Guts and determination," she told Rhoden, "will pull you through."

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsTrack and FieldAlice Coachman Biography - Winner At Wembley, Great Olympic Athlete, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information