Athletes

Wyomia Tyus was the first Olympic athlete, male or female, to successfully defend her sprint title in consecutive Olympic Games. During the 1964 Olympic Games, she won a gold medal in the 100m dash. Tyus also won a silver medal at the 1964 Olympic Games in the 4x100m relay. In the 1968 Games, Tyus followed her 1964 Olympic performance with another gold medal in the 100m dash, setting a new world record. She also won her third gold medal as a member of the 4x100m relay team in the 1968 Olympic Games. As a Tennessee State Tigerbelle, Tyus was a five-time world record holder in the 50-, 60-, 70- and 100-yard dash and sprint. Tyus was a 10-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national champion and All-American in both indoor and outdoor competition. She earned a gold medal in the 200m dash in the 1967 Pan American Games. Tyus was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first female inducted. She was also inducted into the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, the Women's Sports Foundation's International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in the contemporary category in 1981, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1980, the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. Tyus was a founding member of the Women's Sports Foundation and a member of its Advisory Board. In 1999, the Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park in Griffin, GA, opened its doors. Tyus currently works with the Los Angeles Unified School District and previously dedicated her time to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Black Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. (04/07)