Alice Coachman(1923 - 2014)
Born in 1923, Coachman grew up in Georgia, reliant on herself and personal support to develop her athletic abilities since segregation kept her out of quality training facilities. She excelled in the high jump and in 1939, broke the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) high school and college women's high jump records while barefoot. Coachman won 25 AAU outdoor and indoor awards and competed for Tuskegee and Albany State. In the 1948 Olympics, Coachman cleared a 5'6 jump on her first go, making her the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. President Truman congratulated her and Albany celebrated with an Alice Coachman Day.
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