Olympians: Alice Coachman

Episode Summary

Title: Olympians Alice Coachman Alice Coachman was born in 1923 in Albany, Georgia. Despite lacking parental support and facing segregation that barred her from organized sports, Coachman improvised and trained herself in track and field as a child. In high school, Coachman broke national high school and college high jump records. She caught the attention of Tuskegee Institute and received a scholarship at age 16. Coachman went on to dominate the AAU national championships, winning 10 titles in a row and breaking records. Her Olympic dreams were delayed due to WWII cancellations in 1940 and 1944. After graduating college, Coachman made history at the 1948 London Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal with her high jump victory. Upon returning home, Coachman received a parade but also faced racism, with the mayor of her hometown refusing to shake her hand. She ended her athletic career at 24, later becoming a teacher and founding a foundation to aid athletes. Coachman was honored as one of the greatest Olympians in history at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She was inducted into several halls of fame before passing away in 2014 at age 90.

Episode Show Notes

Alice Coachman (1923-2014) was the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Episode Transcript

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But her trailblazing has often been forgotten because she competed before television. Today, we're talking about Alice Coachman. Alice was born on November 9th, 1923 in Albany, Georgia. She took to track and field at a young age, despite lacking her parents' support. Deep in the segregated South, barred from organized sports events and training grounds, Alice improvised. She ran barefoot on dirt roads and used old equipment to work on her high jump. In 1938, Alice enrolled at Madison High School. There, the boys track coach, Harry E. Lash, noticed Alice's talent and nurtured it. During her time there, she broke both the high school and college high jump records in the amateur athlete union national track and field championship, barefoot. Within a year, she caught the attention of Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee University. Tuskegee offered her a scholarship when she was just 16 years old. Over the next nine years, Alice continued to dominate the AAU championships. By 1948, she could say she won 10 national championships in a row, breaking records along the way. Still, it was a time of mixed fortune. At the peak of her athletic performance, World War II broke out. The Olympics were canceled in 1940 and 1944. After graduating from Tuskegee, Alice enrolled at Albany State College in 1946, where she studied home economics and science. She would later become a teacher and track and field coach. But before that, she would make history. It was the summer of 1948, and the Olympics were held in London after a 12-year hiatus. A heavy rain broke over England that early August, lasting for days. On the drizzly morning of August 7th, 83,000 spectators gathered to watch the closing track and field event. Up to that point, no American woman had taken the gold medal in any of the competitions. Alice made a name for herself by jumping a stunning five feet, six and one-eighth inches in the high jump. She surpassed the Olympic record, beat Dorothy Tyler of Britain, and jumped into the history books as the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. King George VI presented Alice with her gold medal, and upon her return home, she was greeted with a parade in honor of her historic achievement. She met Harry Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt, but still, the racial attitudes of the time diminished her accomplishment. The mayor of Alice's hometown refused to shake Alice's hand at her own honors ceremony. Many years later, in an interview with the Visionary Project, Alice was asked if she was put down by others when she won. She said, "'There was nothing they could say to me "'that could bring me down or make me feel cheap, "'because I was champ.'" Alice's athletic career ended at the age of 24. She went on to raise a family and became an elementary and high school teacher. She also created the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation to aid young athletes and former competitors in financial need. Alice was honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians in history at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. She's been inducted into nine different halls of fame, including the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Alice died on July 14, 2014, at the age of 90, in Georgia. All month, we're talking about Olympians. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Wamanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopaedia Wamanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_09: Go 5G plans, upgrade when you want. Every year or every two, you decide. Visit T-Mobile.com to take charge of your upgrades. SPEAKER_04: Get two-year financing on Go 5G Plus and Next. 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