Benita Fitzgerald Mosley

Track & Field

Benita Fitzgerald Mosley won a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif., making her just the second American woman to do so, behind "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, and the first African-American woman to accomplish this feat. Mosley was a member of the 1980 and 1984 Olympic teams and an alternate on the 1988 Olympic team. She won a gold medal in the hurdles at the 1983 Pan American Games, and is an eight-time national champion and 14-time NCAA All-American.

 Career Highlights

  • Olympic gold medalist
  • Pan American gold medalist
  • Eight-time National Champion
  • U.S.A Track and Field’s Chief of Sport Performance
  • Member of four halls of fame
  • Former Women’s Sports Foundation President
  • Past-Chair of the Women’s Sports Foundation Board of Trustees 
  •  One of eight athletes selected to carry the Olympic flag into the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the Centennial Games in 1996

 Collegiate Career

Mosley- Fitzgerald competed with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols Track & Field team from 1980-1983. While at University of Tennessee Mosley- Fitzgerald won 4 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in Track and Field, including 3 consecutive 100m hurdles outdoor championships, and earning All American honors 14 times.

In 1981 Mosley- Fitzgerald was a major part in helping the Lady Vols Track & Field women’s team to gain their first National team championship in schools history. In addition to completing all these accomplishments at University of Tennessee Mosley- Fitzgerald earned her degree in Industrial Engineering in December of 1984.

Awards

Mosley has earned honors that include being named the "Sportswoman of the Century" by The Potomac News, "Top Female Sports Figure of the Century from Virginia" by Sports Illustrated and "Hurdler of the Decade" (1980s) by the Track and Field News. Mosley is also an inductee to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Virginia High School Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols Hall of Fame. In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Southeastern Conference, Mosley was honored as one of 75 former student-athletes that have earned distinction by positively impacting their communities, states, regions and nations.

Professional Work

Benita Fitzgerald Mosley was recently appointed Chief of Sport Performance for USA Track & Field. She oversees the organization's resources and programs dedicated to maximizing Team USA's performance in world and Olympic competition, such as: international teams, sport science and medicine, anti-doping, coaching, athlete development, training centers, etc. She is currently the Women's Sports Foundation's Chair of the Board of Trustees. She also served as president of the Women's Sports Foundation Board of Trustees (1997-98).

From 2001-2008, Mosley served as president and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), an organization committed to developing women leaders in the cable telecommunications industry. She joined WICT after serving in a variety of positions for the United States Olympic Committee from 1995-2001. In November 2004, Mosley was named "Cable TV Executive of the Year" by Television Week Magazine.

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Request this Speaker Benita Fitzgerald Mosley speaks onstage during the 30th Annual Salute To Women In Sports Awards at The Waldorf Astoria on October 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by: Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for the Women's Sports Foundation)