The first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, Alice Coachman, has died at the age of 90, according to the New York Times. Coachman won the gold medal at the London Games of 1948 for the high jump.
Growing up in her hometown of Albany, Georgia Coachman has not be allowed to train on athletic fields with whites. Practicing on fields full of grass and on dirt road, Coachman developed her skills. Although she was congratulated by President Harry S. Truman at the White House, and was well received by many for her accomplishment, she was hit with the harsh realities of the segregated south when the mayor of her hometown would not even shake her hand during a ceremony to honor where she was honored and she had to leave through a side door.
Coachman’s daughter, Evelyn Jones, says her mother suffered a stroke in recent months and died from cardiac arrest after difficulty breathing.
To read more about Alice Coachman visit the New York Times.