View source for Alice Coachman

{{short description|American high jumper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| image          = Alice_Coachman.jpg
| caption        = 
| birth_name     = Alice Marie Coachman
| full_name      = Alice Coachman Davis
| nationality    = 
| birth_date     = {{Birth date text|November 9, 1923}}
| birth_place    = [[Albany, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{Death-date and age|July 14, 2014|November 9, 1923}}
| death_place    = Albany, Georgia, U.S.
| height         =  
| weight         = 
| country        = United States
| sport          = Athletics
| club           = 
| retired        = Yes 
| olympics       = 
| highestranking = Yes
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold |[[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump|High jump]]}}
}}

'''Alice Marie Coachman Davis''' (November 9, 1923 – July 14, 2014) was an American [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]]. She specialized in [[high jump]] and was the first black woman to win an [[Olympic gold medal]].

==Biography==

===Early life and education===
Alice Coachman was born on November 9, 1923, in [[Albany, Georgia]]. She was the fifth of Fred and Evelyn Coachman's ten children. Coachman was unable to access athletic training facilities or participate in organized sports because of the color of her skin.<ref name=Ennis>{{cite web |last1=Ennis |first1=Lisa A. |title=Alice Coachman (1923-2014) |date=July 17, 2014 |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/sports-outdoor-recreation/alice-coachman-1923-2014 |website=www.georgiaencyclopedia.org |publisher=New Georgia Encyclopedia |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref> Added to the list of training barriers was her status as a female athlete during a time of widespread opposition to women in sports. She trained using what was available to her, running shoeless along the dirt roads near her home and using homemade equipment to practice her jumping.<ref name=Olympics30>{{cite web |title=Alice Coachman - First African American Woman Gold Medallist |url=http://www.olympics30.com/30greatest/alice-coachman.asp |website=Olympics 30 - Great Olympic Stories |access-date=August 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060015/http://www.olympics30.com/30greatest/alice-coachman.asp |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Coachman attended [[Monroe, Georgia#Elementary|Monroe Street Elementary School]] where she was encouraged by her 5th grade teacher, Cora Bailey, and by her aunt, Carrie Spry, despite the reservations of her parents. Upon enrolling at Madison High School in 1938, she joined the track team, working with Harry E. Lash to develop her skill as an athlete. Within a year she drew the attention of the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.<ref name=Ennis/>

In 1939 she joined the Tuskegee Preparatory School at the age of 16 after being offered a scholarship.<ref name=Olympics30/><ref name=Bio>{{cite web |title=Alice Coachman Biography Track and Field Athlete (1923–2014) |url=http://www.biography.com/people/alice-coachman-21335855#synopsis |website=The Biography.com website |publisher=Biography |access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref> The scholarship required her to work while studying and training, which included cleaning and maintaining sports facilities as well as mending uniforms.<ref name=Telegraph/>

Coachman went on to graduate with a degree in [[dressmaking]] from the [[Tuskegee Institute]] in 1946. The following year she continued her studies at [[Albany State University|Albany State College]], receiving a B.S. in Home Economics with a minor in science in 1949.<ref name=Ennis/><ref name=Essington>{{cite web |last1=Essington |first1=Amy |title=Coachman, Alice Marie (1923-2014) |url=http://www.blackpast.org/aah/coachman-alice-marie-1923 |website=BlackPast.org |date=March 8, 2009 |access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref> She became a teacher and track-and-field instructor.<ref name=Essington/>

===Athletic career===
Prior to arriving at the Tuskegee Preparatory School, Coachman competed in the [[Amateur Athletic Union]]'s (AAU) Women's [[National Championships]] breaking the college and National high jump records while competing barefoot.<ref name=Olympics30/> Her unusual jumping style was a combination of straight jumping and western roll techniques.<ref name=Britannica>{{cite web |author1=((The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica)) |title=Alice Coachman |url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Alice-Coachman |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=August 2, 2015 |date=October 24, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Alice Coachman. 1948 urtea.jpg|thumb|Alice Coachman high jumper at the NCAA track and field championships, 1939]]

Coachman dominated the AAU outdoor [[high jump]] championship from 1939 through 1948, winning ten national championships in a row.<ref name=Telegraph/> In addition to her high jump accomplishments, she won national championships in the 50-meter dash, the 100-meter dash and with the 400-meter relay team as a student at the Tuskegee Institute. During the same period, Coachman won three conference championships playing as a guard on the Tuskegee women's basketball team.<ref name=Ennis/><ref name=Britannica/> Despite being in her prime, Coachman was unable to compete in the 1940 and 1944 [[Olympic Games]] as they were canceled because of [[World War II]]. In the opinion of sportswriter Eric Williams, "Had she competed in those canceled Olympics, we would probably be talking about her as the No. 1 female athlete of all time."<ref name=Williams>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Eric |title=The Greatest Black Female Athletes Of All-Time |work=BlackAthlete |access-date=2014-07-24 |date=2006-04-06 |url=http://blackathlete.net/2006/04/the-greatest-black-female-athletes-of-all-time/ |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812215649/http://blackathlete.net/2006/04/the-greatest-black-female-athletes-of-all-time/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Coachman's first opportunity to compete on a global stage was during the 1948 Olympic Games in London. She qualified for the US Olympic team with a high jump of {{convert|5|ft|4|in}} breaking the previous 16-year-old record by {{cvt|3/4|in}}.<ref name=Olympics30/> In the high jump finals of the 1948 Summer Olympics, Coachman leaped {{cvt|1.68|m}} on her first try. Her nearest rival, Great Britain's [[Dorothy Tyler-Odam|Dorothy Tyler]], matched Coachman's jump, but only on her second try. Coachman was the only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics in 1948. Her medal was presented by King [[George VI]].<ref name=Greenblatt>{{Cite web |publisher=[[NPR]] |first=Alan |last=Greenblatt |title=Why An African-American Sports Pioneer Remains Obscure |work=Code Switch |access-date=2014-07-24 |date=2014-07-19 |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/19/332665921/why-an-african-american-sports-pioneer-remains-obscure}}</ref>

Upon her return to the United States after the Olympics, Coachman had become a celebrity. Soon after meeting President [[Harry S. Truman|Harry Truman]] and former First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], she was honored with parades from Atlanta to Albany and was thrown a party by [[Count Basie]].<ref name=Goldstein/> In 1952 she became the first African-American woman to endorse an international product when she was signed as a spokesperson by the [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola Company]]<ref name=Essington/> who featured her prominently on billboards alongside 1936 Olympic winner [[Jesse Owens]].<ref name=Telegraph/> In her hometown, Alice Avenue, and Coachman Elementary School were named in her honor.
<ref>{{Cite book |title=Alice Coachman |work=Notable Sports Figures, 2004 |oclc=52347682}}</ref>

===Later life===
Coachman's athletic career ended when she was 24.<ref name=Goldstein/> She dedicated the rest of her life to education and to the [[Job Corps]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sports of The Times; Good Things Happening for One Who Decided to Wait |work=New York Times |access-date=2015-02-24 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/27/sports/sports-of-the-times-good-things-happening-for-one-who-decided-to-wait.html}}</ref>

Coachman died in Albany, Georgia on July 14, 2014, of cardiac arrest after suffering through respiratory problems. She had a stroke a few months prior for which she received treatment from a nursing home. She had two children during her first marriage to N. F. Davis, which ended in divorce. Her second husband, Frank Davis, preceded her in death.<ref name=Goldstein>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/sports/alice-coachman-90-dies-groundbreaking-medalist.html?_r=0 |title=Alice Coachman, 90, Dies; First Black Woman to Win Olympic Gold - NYTimes.com |first=Richard |last=Goldstein |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 14, 2014 |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref>

===Legacy===
[[File:Alice Coachman Elementary School.JPG|thumb|Alice Coachman Elementary School]]
In 1979 Coachman was inducted into the [[Georgia Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Members by Year |url=http://www.georgiasportshalloffame.com/pdf_files/inductees/Georgia%20Sports%20Hall%20of%20Fame%20Members%20by%20Year%202011.pdf |access-date=July 5, 2017 |website=[[Georgia Sports Hall of Fame]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705122853/http://www.georgiasportshalloffame.com/pdf_files/inductees/Georgia%20Sports%20Hall%20of%20Fame%20Members%20by%20Year%202011.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref> During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Coachman was honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians.<ref name=Bio/> She was an honorary member of [[Alpha Kappa Alpha]] sorority, inducted in 1998<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://aka-web.s3.amazonaws.com/files/Coachman_Davis_Obituary.pdf |title=Alpha Kappa Alpha Mourns The Loss Of Honorary Member Alice Marie Coachman Davis |publisher=[[Alpha Kappa Alpha]] |location=Chicago, Illinois |date=July 20, 2014 |accessdate=April 20, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210123340/https://aka-web.s3.amazonaws.com/files/Coachman_Davis_Obituary.pdf |archive-date=February 10, 2022}}</ref> In 2002, she was designated a [[Women's History Month]] Honoree by the [[National Women's History Project]].<ref name="WHM">{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Honorees: 2010 National Women's History Month |work=Women's History Month |publisher=[[National Women's History Project]] |url=http://nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php |access-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624015034/http://www.nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php |archive-date=June 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Coachman was also inducted to the USA Track and Field Hall of fame in 1975 and the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame|United States Olympic Hall of Fame]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28309527 |title=BBC News - US black female gold Olympian Alice Coachman Davis dies |publisher=Bbc.com |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2014-07-15}}</ref>

Coachman has received recognition for opening the door for future African-American track stars such as [[Evelyn Ashford]], [[Florence Griffith Joyner]], and [[Jackie Joyner-Kersee]]. In fact, in the years since her display of Olympic prowess, black women have made up a majority of the US women's Olympic track and field team.{{As of?|date=June 2025}} "I think I opened the gate for all of them," she reflected. "Whether they think that or not, they should be grateful to someone in the black race who was able to do these things."<ref name=Telegraph>{{Cite web |title=Alice Coachman - obituary; Alice Coachman was an American athlete who became the first black woman to win Olympic gold |work=Telegraph Online |date=July 15, 2014 |access-date=2015-02-24 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10968896/Alice-Coachman-obituary.html}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* "Alice Coachman, 1st Black Woman Gold Medalist, To Be Honored." Jet (July 29, 1996): 53.
* Cummings, D. L. "An Inspirational Jump Into History." Daily News (February 9, 1997): 75.
* Danzig, Allison. "83,000 At Olympics." New York Times (August 8, 1948): S1.
* Deramus, Betty. "Living Legends." Essence (February 1999): 93.
* "Georgia's Top 100 Athletes of the 1900s." Atlanta Journal-Constitution (December 26, 1999): 4G.
* "Miss Coachman Honored: Tuskegee Woman Gains 3 Places on All-America Track Team." New York Times (January 11, 1946): 24.
*
* Rhoden, William C. "Sports of the Times; Good Things Happening for the One Who Decided to Wait." New York Times (April 27, 1995): B14.
* {{cite book |last1=Lansbury |first1=Jennifer |title=A Spectacular leap : black women athletes in twentieth-century America. |date=2014 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |location=Fayetteville, Arkansas |isbn=978-1557286581}}Rosen, Karen. "Olympic Weekly; 343 Days; Georgia's Olympic Legacy." Atlanta Journal-Constitution (August 11, 1995): 6D.
* Weiner, Jay. "A Place in History, Not Just a Footnote." Star Tribune (July 29, 1996): 4S.

==External links==
* [http://www.visionaryproject.com/coachmanalice Alice Coachman's oral history video excerpts] at The National Visionary Leadership Project
* {{World Athletics|14557476}}
* {{USATF|new_id=alice-coachman}}
* {{USATF Hall of Fame|id=32}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=alice-coachman|old_id=Alice-Coachman|archive=20230720073220}}
* {{Olympics.com profile |id=alice-marie-coachman |name=Alice Marie Coachman |org_id=alice-coachman |org_name=Alice Coachman |org_archive=20190617171432}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions High Jump Women}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in women's high jump}}
{{Footer US NC 50m Women}}
{{Footer US NC 100m Women}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 60m Women}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1948 Summer Olympics}}
{{Georgia Women of Achievement}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coachman, Alice}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American female high jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:College women's basketball players in the United States]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Golden Tigers women's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportswomen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportswomen]]
[[Category:United States collegiate record setters in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Albany State University alumni]]