The Life of Alice Coachman
By: Caley Dalton
Alice Coachman was born on November 9, 1923 in Albany Georgia. Alice attended her local school and participated in track and basketball. When she graduated highschool, she went to college at Tuskegee University and Albany State University.
Alice accomplished many things while she was in college at Tuskegee. She won track and field relays everytime she participated in them. She also won events when she participated in the high jump event. Alice led her basketball team to the championships all while getting an education.
The coaches could not neglect Alice's great amount of talent. Alice was happy and proud that she was being recognized for her talent, and that's when Alice got her big break in the 1948 London Olympics.
Alice knew that she was going to have a lot of stiff competition since she would be competing with people all around the world. Her biggest competition was Dorothy Tyler, but fear was not going to stop her.
"I always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to do."
-Alice Coachman
Alice and Dorothy ended up very close in score. Alice jumped the highest the first time and then Dorothy jumped higher the second time, but not by much. So it came down to a intense meeting with the judges and they chose Alice! Alice became the first African American women to win an olympic gold medal.
After the Olympics, Alice finished out college and went on to build the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation. This was made to assist kids that wanted to do sports just like her. Alice was also named one of the greatest olympians of all time at the 1996 summer olympic games in Atlanta.
Alice Coachman passed away at the age of 90 on July 14, 2014. Alice definitely made her impact on this world and became an insperation for so many kids that had dreams like her. She showed them that dreams do come true and to never stop believing in themselves.