Track and Field Black History

Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1982 and 1983 NCAA Championships

When Florence Griffith-Joyner retired after the 1988 season, she was closing out her career as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history. Flo-Jo had broken world records in the 100m and 200m, setting seemingly untouchable times that still stand to this day. She also won Olympic Gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100 as well as silver in the 4x400 at 1988 Seoul Games.

But prior to her legendary success as a professional, she was setting the foundation for her career in the NCAA. While competing for UCLA, Flo-Jo won multiple NCAA sprint titles including the 200m and 400m in 1982 and 1983 NCAA championships respectively. She still remains the only woman in NCAA history to have won both events. 

Today we’ll tell the story of Florence Griffith and her achievements at the 1982 and 1983 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

 

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Dawn Sowell: The Unbreakable NCAA Sprint Record Holder

In 2019, Sha'Carri Richardson of LSU broke the NCAA record in the 100m, running 10.75 seconds. 2 years prior in 2017,  Kyra Jefferson of Florida ran 22.02 seconds to break the NCAA record in the 200m. These sprint records had long stood at the top of the record books and had been literally un breakable for decades. Names like Kimberlyn Duncan, Aleia Hobbs, Deajah Stevens and others all came close but it took 30 years for the records to finally come down.

Thoes records date back to the 1989 NCAA Championships in Provo, Utah where LSU sprinter Dawn Sowell solidified her place in NCAA history running 10.78 and 20.02, times that would hold up through generations of college track and, at the time had everyone calling Sowell the next Flo-Jo.

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John Akii-Bua: The Ugandan Olympic Champion

In the 1970s, Uganda was under the control of a brutal dictator Idi Amin, who was committing genocide on his own people. Over 300,000 Langi people in Uganda had been killed during his 8 year reign. During that time though, John Akii-Bua had managed to win the 400m Hurdles at the 1972 Olympic Games, becoming the first Ugandan athlete to win an Olympic Gold medal. Because of this,  he became a national hero and was rewarded with celebrations and gifts from Idi Amin. Akii-Bua, a Langi himself, would quickly find his celebrity status to be a gift and a curse, soon becoming a refugee from a country that once loved him for his success on the track.

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Tidye Pickett: The First African American Woman to Compete at the Olympic Games

At the beginning of the 20th century, Women had largely been excluded from participating in athletics for various unfounded reasons. Men claimed that women were unable to handle strenuous activity like sprinting or distance running. They even claimed that sports would damage a women's internal organs and cause them to be unable to bear children. Despite all these ridiculous claims, Women finally got the opportunity to compete at the Olympics in 1928. But only white women were included. It wasn’t until 8 years later in 1936 that we saw a Black women compete at the Games for the first time in history. And that women was Tidye Pickett.

 

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Evelyn Ashford: The First Black Woman to win 4 Olympic Gold Medals

From becoming the first girl to compete on the track and field team at her high school, to becoming the first Black woman to win 4 Olympic Gold medals. Evelyn Ashford is without question one of the greatest athletes in the history of Track and Field.

 

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Kathy McMillan: The 2nd Black Woman, and Youngest, to Win an Olympic Long Jump Medal

Starting High School in 1972, Kathy McMillan had never heard of the Olympic Games or even participated in organized sports. But 4 years later, at just 18 years-old, she would be standing on the podium receiving an Olympic Silver medal in the Long Jump.

 

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Kim Gallagher: The First Black Woman to Win Two Olympic 800m Medals

Dealing with the dynamics of having a black mother and white father, as well as severe illness through out her entire career, Kim Gallagher rose to become of the greatest 800m runners in the sport. She was the first Black Woman to win two Olympic medals at 800m.

 

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Audrey Patterson: The First African American Woman to Win an Olympic Medal

After seeing Jesse Owens speak at her high school in New Orleans, Audrey Patterson made it her dream to one day compete at the Olympics. A short 4 years later, she would become the first African American Woman to win an Olympic medal. Despite her accomplishment, he home city would show little recognition or appreciation for what she did.

 

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Otis Davis: How a Basketball Scholarship Turned into an Olympic 400m Gold Medal

Originally recruited to play basketball at the University of Oregon, Otis Davis went on to have a legendary career in the sport, winning Olympic 400m Gold and becoming the first man to ever run under 45 seconds in the event.

 

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The Story of Vincent Matthews, Wayne Collett and the Forgotten 1972 Olympic Protest

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Americans Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett won Gold and Silver respectively in the 400m. During the award ceremony, while at the top of the podium, Matthews and Collett chose to ignore the US National Anthem as it played and simply stand on the podium, fidgeting, looking around and not acknowledging the anthem. Matthews and Collett were banned from the remainder of the 1972 Games as well as from participating in future Olympics as well.

 

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