Athletics
Chronology
1948 Alice Coachman Davis (1923 - 2014), a track and field athlete, was the first American female to win the high jump Olympic Goal Medal at the 1948 games in London
1950 Althea Gibson (1927 - 2003), a golfer, tennis player and Tennis Hall of Famer, was the first to compete at the U. S. National Championships in 1950 - now the U. S. Open. Additionally, was the first to win Wimbledon and U.S. National Championships in 1957.
1960 Wilma Goldean Rudolph (1940 - 1994), a track and field athlete, was the first to win three gold medals at a single Olympic game held in Rome, Italy in 1960.
1982 Christina Vivian Stone Stringer (b. 1948), a basketball player, coach, educator, and basketball Hall of Famer, was the first coach of men or women to lead three different teams to the Final Four: Cheyney University 1982, University of Iowa 1993, and Rutgers University, 2000 and 2007.
1986 Debra Janice Thomas (b. 1967), an ice skater and physician, was the first to win the women’s title at the U. S. Figure Skating Championship in 1986, and was the first to win the Bronze medal at the Winter Olympics games in Calgary in 1988.
1986 Catana Starks (b. 1944), an educator and coach at Tennessee State University, became the first to coach a men’s NCAA Division I Golf Team in 1986.
1990 Bernadette Locke Mattox a basketball player and coach, was the first to serve as a Division I assistant men’s basketball team coach at Kentucky in 1990.
2012 Gabrielle (Gabby) Christina Victoria Douglas (b. 1995), a gymnast and athlete, was the first to win the summer 2012 Olympic Gold Individual All-Around and team gold medal in London.
Alice Coachman Davis
Wilma Goldean Rudolph
Gabrielle (Gabby)
Christina Victoria Douglas
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