The First Black Woman To Win an Olympic Gold Medal was an HBCU GRAD
Alice Marie Coachman, the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, was a two-time HBCU GRAD.
Born in Albany, Georgia, Alice was barred from training in certain facilities because she was a black girl. She used to run shoeless along the dirt roads near her home to train.
She enrolled at Tuskegee Institute at 16 after being offered a scholarship. The scholarship required her to work while studying and training, which included cleaning and maintaining sports facilities as well as mending uniforms.
She graduated with a degree in dressmaking from Tuskegee in 1946. The following year she continued her studies at Albany State and received a BS in home economics with a minor in science. Upon graduation, she became a teacher and track and field instructor.
As an amateur, Coachman broke the college and national high jump records while competing BAREFOOT.
From 1939-1948 she won 10 high jump national championships in a row. She also won national championships in the 50M, 100M and 400M relay while at Tuskegee. She also won 3 conference championships playing guard on the Tuskegee women’s basketball team.
Despite being in her prime, Coachman couldn’t compete in the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games because they were cancelled because of World War 2. In the opinion of sportswriter Eric Williams, “Had she competed in those canceled olympics, we would probably be talking about her as the top female athlete of all time.
In 1948, Coachman was the only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
In 1952, she became the first black woman to endorse an international product when she became a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.
She was inducted into the Georgia sports hall of fame. She was honored as one of the 100 greatest olympians. She was an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She was also inducted into the USA track and field hall of fame and the US Olympic hall of fame.
