By Diana Sanchez
Alice Coachman
Date of birth: November 9, 1923
Death: July 14, 2014
In 1948 Alice Coachman became the first American woman to take a gold medal in the Olympics. She was also the first black woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. She soared 5 feet and 6 ⅛ inches in the high jump while at the London Games. During an interview in 1996 with the New York Times she said, “If I had gone to the games and failed, there wouldn’t be anyone to follow in my footsteps. It encouraged the rest of the women to work harder and fight harder.” Earlier in 1948, Coachman set a record for America when she jumped 5 feet, 4 13/16 inches in Michigan. In the same competition, she set the American AAU record for the 50-meter dash by crossing the finish line in 6.4 seconds. Her first national title came 10 years earlier in Connecticut, at the 1939 National AAU tournament.
Her victory was celebrated with invitations from President Harry S. Truman to come on a British royal yacht. However, there was racism on the day of Coachman’s parade and celebration in her hometown; blacks and whites were separated from one another in the Albany city auditorium. The mayor sat next to Coachman however, he refused to shake hands with her and she left the events through the side door. “We had segregation, but it wasn’t any problem for me because I had won,” she told The Telegraph. “That was up to them, whether they accepted it or not.”
The cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, because of World War II, marked the end of her track and field career. She graduated from Albany State College with a degree in home economics and a minor in science. She became a teacher and created the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation where she would give back to those in financial need.
In 1975 she was inducted to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and 29 years later, in 2004, she was inducted to the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Shani Davis
Date of birth: August 13, 1982
Davis won five National Age Group Championships in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2003; and also won a North American Championship in 1999. He became the first Black speed skater to get a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team in 2002.
At age 17, Davis became the first American skater to earn spots on both the short track and long track Junior World Team, accomplishing that for three years in a row. At 23, Davis won gold and silver at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, while also repeating his World All-Around Title in Calgary. He won world titles in the 1000 meter and 1500 meter events.
When he was 27, he broke two world records, won gold and silver in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, becoming the first man to repeat as a Olympic 1000m Champion, and he won his third Overall World Cup Titles in the 1000 and 1500 meter. He also led his team to the USA’s first Team Pursuit World Championship Gold Medal in between 2010-2011.
In 2012-13 Davis surpassed 10,000 points for his World Cup career, becoming one of only three men to do so. He won five World Cup races and skated another 1000m/1500m at both U.S. Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials, in 2013-14. He earned the most World Cup points across all distances. In 2016-17, Davis became the leader in World Cup points, he stands with 13,144 points and it keeps increasing.
Wilt Chamberlain
Date of birth: August 21, 1936
Death: October 12, 1999
He stood at 7 feet and 1 inch and once scored 100 points in a game. He started his NBA career after one year playing for the Globetrotters. The man owns 72 NBA records, most of which were for his abilities to score and rebound. During his third year in the league, Wilt averaged 26 rebounds and 50 points a game. During the 1977-78 season, he averaged 24 points, 24 rebounds, and 9 assists as he won one of 4 MVP awards he would later win. Chamberlain won 11 rebounding titles, 7 scoring titles, 4 MVP awards, and 2 championship rings.
Wilma Rudolph
Date of birth: June 23, 1940
Death: November 12, 1994
Rudolph was one of 22 children, so she was constantly surrounded by support and care, which was needed due to her poor health. She survived polio and scarlet fever, but these illnesses forced her into wearing a brace on her leg. Doctors told her that she would never walk again. Rudolph’s parents and siblings would often remove her leg brace and massage her injured leg. At six years old, she began to hop on one leg. At 11, when her mother discovered her playing basketball, she very quickly began to concentrate on sports. While in high school, Rudolph was nominated as an All-American for basketball; however, she turned to track and field.
She participated in the 1956 Olympic Games, and won a bronze medal in 4×100 relay while still in high school. Four years later, she participated in the 1960 summer Olympics, but this time she was determined to get gold. At this event she broke at least three world records and won three gold medals. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic game, this performance earned her the title of “the fastest woman in the world.”
Rudolph won the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award in 1961. Rudolph retired only a year after that and went back to finish her degree and began to work in education. Although she retired, she continued her involvement in sports by working in community centers. She started an organization to help amateur track and field stars and was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame. She became the first woman to get the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Silver Anniversary Award in 1990. There is also an indoor track and dormitory at Tennessee State University that was named in honor of Rudolph.