Alice Coachman

Published August 26, 2026 at 10:04 AM EDT

1 of 3 — COACHMAN

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)

JOHN ROONEY/AP / AP

2 of 3 — Alice Coachman 1948

Alice Coachman of Tuskegee about to snap the tape to win the 100 meter run in the Woman's National AAU Track and Field championships, Aug. 5, 1946. Coming up a close second, left, is Stella Walsh, running for the Polish-Olympic WAC, Cleveland. (AP Photo)

Anonymous/AP / AP

3 of 3 — COACHMAN

Alice Coachman of Albany, Ga., clears the bar at five feet to win the running high jump in Women's National Track Meet in Grand Rapids July 6, 1948. (AP PHOTO)

Associated Press

Alice Coachman was born in Albany, GA in 1923.

She was a naturally gifted runner, but there were no training programs for a young Black girl in the Jim Crow South. Coachman honed her skills by running barefoot on country roads and using improvised equipment to jump.

At 16, she qualified for a scholarship at Tuskegee Institute Preparatory School. From 1939-1948, she won 25 national championships in the Amateur Athletic Union, including 10 consecutive titles in high jump. They nicknamed her the Tuskegee Flash. At the1948 Olympics, she set a record for high jump, becoming the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

In 1996, she was honored at the Olympics in Atlanta as one of the 100 greatest Olympians in history.