Coachman, Alice (Mrs. Davis)
Track and field
b. Nov. 9, 1923, Albany, GA
Coachman was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, in the 1948 high jump. She was also the only American woman to win a track and field event at the Olympics that year.
She would probably have won more medals if the 1940 and 1944 Olympics hadn't been canceled because of World War II, for she dominated the high jump for a decade and she was also a fine sprinter. Coachman won the AAU outdoor high jump championship from 1939 through 1948, and she was indoor champion in 1941, 1945, and 1946; there was no indoor competition from 1938 through 1940 or from 1942 through 1944.
She won the outdoor 50-meter dash from 1943 through 1947, the outdoor 100-meter in 1942, 1945 and 1946, and the indoor 50-meter dash in 1945 and 1946. Representing Tuskegee Institute, Coachman also ran on the national champion 4 x 100-meter relay team in 1941 and 1942.