Alice Marie Coachman

Alice Marie Coachman was born in Albany, Georgia, on November 9, 1923. Coachman made history at the 1948 Olympics in London, England, when she high jumped 5 feet, 6 1/8 inches, setting an Olympic record, becoming the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Coachman was the only United States female athlete to win a
gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games.

At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, she was honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians in history. She has been inducted into several halls of fame, including the National Track & Field Hall of Fame (1975) and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (2004).

Coachman was one of 10 children born to Fred and Evelyn Coachman. Growing up in the Deep South in the 1930s, she was frequently prevented from training or competing in organized sporting events. Coachman would often have to train barefoot in fields and on dirt roads, using ropes, sticks, and old equipment to practice her high jumping. In 1938, Coachman enrolled in Madison High School, where she immediately joined the track team.

Her achievements attracted the attention of Tuskegee Institute’s athletic officials, and in 1939, they offered her a scholarship to attend both Tuskegee high school and college. Her parents, who initially did not support their daughter’s athletic dreams, gave their blessing, and she moved to Tuskegee, Alabama.

She competed for the Golden Tigers’ high school and college track and field programs from 1939-1946. She also played on three championship basketball teams. Coachman’s success also extended to the classroom. She graduated from Tuskegee College in 1946 and received a B.A. from Albany State College in 1949.

In 1939, Coachman won her first Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championship high jump title. Over the next 9 years she dominated the event winning the AAU national championship high jump title 10 consecutive times, from 1939 to 1948. She also won the 50-meter outdoor title from 1943 to 1947 and won national championships in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay. Coachman was the only African American on each of the five All-American teams to which she was named.

Unfortunately for Coachman, World War II forced the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games. In 1948, the Olympic Games were reinstated, and Coachman was ready to compete against the world’s best athletes at the most prestigious sporting event on the planet. Despite nursing a back injury, on August 7, 1948, Coachman set an Olympic record in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 6 1/8 inches, making her the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. King George VI personally presented Coachman her award.

Coachman retired from athletics after the Olympics. She became a teacher and coach and in 1952, Coachman became the first African American woman to earn an endorsement contract when the Coca-Cola Company tapped her to become their spokesperson. Later she established the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation, a non-profit organization, to help support young athletes and provide assistance to former athletes. The Alice Coachman Elementary School in Albany, Georgia, is named in her honor. Alice Coachman died on July 14, 2014, at the age of 90 in Albany, Georgia.