Background

Alice Coachman was born on November 9, 1923, in Albany, Georgia, United States, to Fred and Evelyn Coachman. She was the fifth of ten children.

Education

Alice Coachman initially wanted to pursue a career as an entertainer. She first developed an interest in high jumping after watching the event at a track meet for boys. Soon afterwards she and her friends began devising all sorts of makeshift setups to jump over - from strings and ropes to sticks and tied rags. This unorthodox training led her to adopt an unusual jumping style that was neither the traditional western roll nor straight-ahead jumping, but a blend of both. Denied access to public training facilities due to segregation policies, she whipped herself into shape by running barefoot on dirt roads.

Usually vaulting much higher than other girls her age, Coachman would often seek out boys to compete against and typically beat them as well. She received little support for her athletic pursuits from her parents, who thought she should direct herself on a more ladylike path to adulthood.

Coachman's athletic development was spurred early on by her fifth-grade teacher, Cora Bailey, from Monroe Street Elementary School who encouraged the young athlete to join a track team when she got the chance. That chance came when she entered Madison High School in 1938, where she competed under coach Harry E. Lash. Her stellar performances under Lash drew the attention of recruiters from Tuskegee Institute, and in 1939 she entered the Institute's high school at the age of sixteen. Before setting foot in a classroom there, she competed for the school in the women's track and field national championship that took place in the summer. Her naivete about the competition was revealed during her first Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) meet in 1939 when, after being told that she was supposed to jump when her name was called, she continued taking jump after jump even though she had already won the competition. Her victory in that meet hooked Coachman on track and field for good. Before long she had broken the national high jump record for both high school and junior college age groups, doing so without wearing shoes.

At Tuskegee Institute High School Coachman's skills were honed by women's track coach Christine Evans Petty and the school's famous head coach, Cleveland Abbott. Her athletic career culminated there in her graduation year of 1943 when she won the AAU Nationals in both the high jump and the 50-yard dash. From there she went on to Tuskegee Institute college (now Tuskegee University), pursuing a trade degree in dressmaking that she earned in 1946.

In 1949, Alice received a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics with a minor in Science from Albany State College (now Albany State University).

Career

During her seven-year tenure at Tuskegee, Alice played basketball and was an all-conference guard who led her team to three straight Southeastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC) women's titles. Coachman's real strength, however, was in track and field. She would win 25 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships, including the United States outdoor 50 meters (from 1943 to 1947), the 100 meters (1942, 1945 and 1946), the indoor 50 meters (1945 and 1946), and the high jump (from 1939 to 1948).

The high jump was Coachman's specialty. Using a combination of forms - part straight jump, part western roll - she dominated the competition in an event that is uniquely challenging for athletes. The high jump requires athletes to convert horizontal momentum to vertical momentum in attempts to clear an ever-increasing height. The event's apparatus consists of a bamboo or aluminum crosspiece called the bar, which rests across two upright poles called standards. As Coachman cleared the bar, she was often photographed on her side, a position reminiscent of the western-roll style of jumping, but her approaching run and takeoff utilized elements of the straight jump.

After graduating with her high school diploma in 1943, Coachman remained at the Tuskegee Institute to earn a trade degree in dressmaking and continue competing in track-and-field events. During this period, she worked part-time as a waitress at the Gordon Hotel. She received her degree in 1946. That same year, she became the only African-American woman named to the United States National Amateur Athletic Union Team. Because of her race, Coachman was studied closely by the public and the organizers of the competition. In the United States-Canada meet, she won the 100 meters and ran the last leg of the 400-meter relay team. She also continued her dominance in the high jump, taking first place.

In 1947, Coachman entered Albany State College. Her amazing string of AAU championships had made her well known on the women's track-and-field circuit. When it was announced that the Olympic Games were to be held in London, England, after an 11-year hiatus (the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were canceled because of World War II), Alice Coachman was among the foremost Tuskegee alumni to compete in the Olympic trials held in Providence, Rhode Island, at Brown University. The high jump trials were conducted in near darkness. She resorted to tying a white handkerchief on the high jump bar to mark the distance she had to clear. As officials lit matches so she could see, Coachman, who was suffering from a sore back, soared over the bar setting a new American Olympic trials record of 5'4¾''. That record would not be broken until the Olympic trials of 1960.

Despite her joy at winning the trials, Coachman was distressed by the thought of overseas travel. Boarding the SS America to sail for London, she was homesick. Her coach selected 14-year-old Mae Faggs, an energetic member of the team, to be her bunkmate, which improved her spirits. During the voyage, Coachman and the United States team were entertained by well-known celebrities, but they also charmed the other passengers with their own program. Coachman danced to the "St. Louis Blues," while other team members harmonized.

The singing and dancing ended when they arrived in London. The track-and-field competition was fierce, and the team from America saw their best athletes eliminated in heat after heat. The competition was dominated by Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands, a 30-year-old mother of two, who won the 80-meter hurdles, the 100 and 200 meters, and ran the winning anchor on the 400-meter relay team. The best the United States team had been able to eke out was a bronze medal won by Audrey Patterson-Tyler in the 200 meters. When it came time for the high jump competition, Coachman, America's best hope for bringing home a gold medal, had her work cut out for her. In a preliminary jump, she had suffered a hip injury. Once competition was underway, every time she cleared a new height the European women came back and matched it.

Standing on the Olympic platform, she received her medal before a stadium full of spectators, which included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Bowes-Lyon). Hers was the only gold medal of the games for the United States women's track and field team. It was also the first Olympic gold medal ever won by an African-American woman.

When she returned to the States, Coachman was taken to the White House to meet then-President Harry S. Truman. She then continued home to Albany, Georgia, where an Alice Coachman Day was scheduled to honor her accomplishment. The parade from Atlanta to Albany would culminate in an indoor ceremony. Along the route, thousands stood shoulder to shoulder to cheer Coachman as her car passed.

Albany's Municipal Auditorium was segregated. The stage where Alice Coachman sat was separated in the middle by a baby grand piano. On one side sat the mayor and other prominent white members of the community, while the Olympic hero sat on the other side with other African-American dignitaries. It is rumored that two white women surreptitiously handed Coachman a dozen American beauty roses before melting back into the crowd to avoid being recognized. If Coachman was bitter, she didn't show it to the outside world.

After the celebrations and acclamation died down, Coachman hung up her track shoes and quietly retired.

In addition to teaching physical education at Albany State, Coachman worked at South Carolina State College and her old alma mater, Tuskegee High School. Coachman also worked for a number of social-service programs, including the Turner Job Corporation, which encourages high school athletes who drop out to return to school.

Achievements

• Alice Coachman was the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, she was honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians. In 2002, Alice was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project.
  
  Coachman received recognition for opening the door for future African-American track stars such as Evelyn Ashford, Florence Griffith Joyner, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Today Coachman's name resides permanently within the prestigious memberships of eight halls of fame, including the National Track and Field Hall of the Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Albany Sports Hall of Fame.

Religion

One of the keys to Coachman's achievements was an unswerving faith in herself to succeed and the power of God to guide her along the way. She once said: "I've had that strong will, that oneness of purpose, all my life. I just called upon myself and the Lord to let the best come through."

Views

The Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation was founded in 1994 by Coachman to assist former Olympic competitors and youth athletes.

Quotations: "I've always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to do."

Membership

Alice Coachman was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

• 

  honorary member

  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority , United States

  1998

Personality

Coachman was described as a quiet, ladylike and reserved person.

Physical Characteristics: Alice had a stroke a few months prior to her death. She died of cardiac arrest after suffering from respiratory problems.

Quotes from others about the person

• Wilburn Campbel: "Alice Coachman was a beautiful person inside and out."

Interests

• Artists

  Shirley Temple

• Sport & Clubs

  running, jumping, fighting

• Music & Bands

  jazz, Coleman Hawkins

Connections

Coachman was married to N. F. Davis, but their marriage ended in divorce. The couple had two children. Her second husband was Frank Davis.

Father:

Fred Coachman

Mother:

Evelyn Coachmann

ex-spouse:

N. F. Davis

late spouse:

Frank Davis

Son:

Richmond Davis

Daughter:

Diane Davis

coach:

Harry E. Lash

coach:

Christine Evans Petty

coach:

Cleveland Abbott

References

• Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper This is an inspiring free-verse story of the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
  2012
• Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman, Olympic High-Jump Champion Here is a story of perseverance and unwavering ambition that follows Alice Coachman on her journey from rural Georgia, where she overcame adversity both as a woman and as a black athlete, to her triumph in Wembly Stadium in the 1948 London Olympics.
  2012