On Aug. 7, 1948, Alice Coachman became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, triumphing in the high jump at the London Summer Games.
Alice Coachman, (center), of Albany, GA., stands on the winner’s section of the Olympic podium at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England, August 7, 1948, to receive the gold medal for winning the women’s high jump. At left is D.J. Tyler of Great Britain, who placed second, and at right is M.O.M. Ostermeyer of France who placed third. Both Coachman and Tyler cleared the bar at 5 feet 6 inches. Summer Olympics London England 1948. (AP Photo)
Born in Albany, Georgia, in 1923, Coachman dominated the Amateur Athletic Union’s outdoor high jump championship from 1939 to 1948.
Though the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were canceled due to World War II, she finally got her moment in 1948 — clearing 1.68 meters (5 feet, 6⅛ inches) on her first attempt.
U.S. Olympic team member Alice Coachman arrives from London on the U.S.S. Washington into New York City on Aug. 27, 1948. Coachman became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal with her win in the high jump in the 1948 Olympics in London. (AP Photo/John Rooney)
Coachman also excelled in the 50-meter and 100-meter dashes.
She later became an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Coachman was a true trailblazer.
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This April 18, 2012, file photo shows Olympic swimming great John Nabor, left, interviewing Alice Coachman Davis, a gold medalist in the high jump at the 1948 Olympics, during U.S. Olympic team festivities in New York’s Times Square. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
