Alice
Coachman-Davis to be inducted into Olympic Hall of Fame
June 20, 2004
Alice Coachman-Davis is one of ten new inductees
into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate. The
July 1 induction will mark the first new class to be added
to the Hall since 1992.
The Class of 2004 cumulatively owns 26 gold, seven silver and four bronze
medals. The class is comprised of six individuals and one team, a Paralympian,
a Veteran and a Special Contributor.
Coachman-Davis was selected in the Veteran
category.
She was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal making history
and gaining international attention by capturing the high jump title with record-setting
jump of 5' 6 1/8" during the 1948 Olympic Games in London.
Coachman Davis won 10 consecutive U.S. titles in the high jump and national
titles at 50-meters, 100-meters and as a member in the 400-meter relay on the
Tuskegee championship team. Many believe she would have dominated the 1940
and 1944 Summer Games, which were cancelled because of World War II.
The Albany, Ga., native attended Tuskegee University, but earned her bachelor's
degree from Albany State (College) after returning from the 1948 games. As
a collegian, she was a member of three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SIAC) championship basketball teams.
From 1938 to 1948, she won 10 consecutive AAU high jump titles, a record which
still holds today.
Other inductees include:
Matt Biondi, Swimming: 11 career Olympic medals (8
gold), tied for most medals ever for an American
Bonnie Blair, Speedskating: Most decorated U.S. winter Olympian
of all-time with five gold medals
Janet Evans, Swimming: 4-time gold medalist tied as only U.S.
swimmer to win four individual titles
Florence Griffith Joyner, Track & Field: 3-time gold medalist
and current 100m and 200m world record holder
Dan Jansen, Speedskating: Broke world record to win gold medal
in final event of his fourth Games
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track & Field: Won back-to-back heptathlon
gold medals, earning six Olympic medals
1996 Women’s Soccer Team: Led by Mia Hamm, won the first-ever
gold in Olympic women’s soccer
Randy Snow, Basketball, Tennis and Track & Field (Paralympian):
only athlete to compete in three Paralympic Games in three different
sports, and win medals in each
Bud Greenspan, Filmmaker (Special Contributor): Olympic documentaries
have over the last four decades has won six (6) Emmy Awards, a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Director's Guild of America and a Peabody
Award
“To be named to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame ranks as one of the highest
honors in American sport,” said Jim Scherr, USOC Chief Executive. “Only
a select group of athletes share this honor. It is the pinnacle of achievement
for an athlete. And, because of Allstate’s commitment to the Olympic
Movement, they have led the effort to revive the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
and recognize some of America’s most extraordinary athletes.”
The award show-style induction ceremony for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
presented by Allstate will be held July 1, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in
Chicago, and will air in a nationally-televised special on USA Network. Voting
for the Class of 2004 was divided among U.S. Olympians, select U.S. Olympic
family/media and, for the first time ever, online fans.
“Allstate’s support of the entire U.S. Olympic Movement mirrors
the equally rich traditions and history found within the walls of the U.S.
Olympic Hall of Fame,” said Allstate Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer Joe Tripodi. “We honor the legacy of all U.S. Olympians—past
and present—and proudly salute the accomplishments of this year’s
inductees.”
The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame returns to its roots in Chicago where the charter
class was enshrined in 1983, with such U.S. Olympic legends as Bob Beamon,
Cassius Clay, Peggy Fleming, Al Oerter, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Mark Spitz,
Jim Thorpe and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Hockey Team. Annual additions
continued through 1992, adding Olympic legends such as Bart Conner, Donna de
Varona, Dorothy Hamill, “Sugar Ray” Leonard, Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis,
Phil Mahre, Debbie Meyer, John Naber and Mary Lou Retton. Prior to this year’s
induction class, the Hall of Fame consists of 151 Distinguished Members, including
68 athletes from individual sports, five teams and 11 special contributors.
