Alice Coachman

HIGH JUMPER
FIRST Black woman to win Olympic gold
As a child she was barred from training with the white athletes, so she built her own high jumps out of rope and sticks to practice
One of ten children, she played sports with local boys, although her father considered her activities unladylike and sometimes beat her to discourage it
Both an aunt and a middle school teacher supported her athletics, and she was eventually accepted to the prestigious Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, joining first the high school and then college track team
Won the Amateur Athletic Union high jump championship ten years in a row from 1939-1948
Competed in only one Olympics, winning a gold medal for the high jump at the 1948 London Games
Also the ONLY American woman to win first place in track and field at the London Games
Her home state honored her victory with a parade and ceremony when she returned to the U.S., but the white mayor of Albany refused to shake her hand during the presentation, and she couldn't use the main entrance to the segregated auditorium
Never competed again, becoming a grade school teacher
Started the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation, which supported aspiring and retired athletes
Inducted into both the U.S. Olympic and the National Track & Field halls of fame

Bibliography: Goldstein, Richard. (2014, July 14). Alice Coachman, 90, Dies; First Black Woman to Win Olympic Gold. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/sports/alice-coachman-90-dies-groundbreaking-medalist.html

Support this organization dedicated to preserving her mission:

Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation

Biographies for Kids and Young Adults

Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper

(picture book)

Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman, Olympic High-Jump Champion

(picture book)

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