The first lady of Olympic track : the life and times of Betty Robinson / Joe Gergen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gergen, Joe, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Robinson, Betty, 1911-1999.

Robinson, Betty.

Runners (Sports)--United States--Biography.

Runners (Sports).

Women runners.

Women Olympic athletes.

United States.

Women Olympic athletes--United States--Biography.

Women runners--United States--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

189 pages, 18 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Evanston, Illinois : Northwestern University Press, 2014.

Summary:

The 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam were the first in which women-over the objections of many, including Pope Pius XI and the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin-were allowed to run in the marquee track events. Equally remarkable is the story behind the first female gold medal winner in the 100-meter dash, sixteen-year-old American Betty Robinson. A prodigy running in just her fourth organized-meet, Robinson stunned the world, earning special praise from the president of the 1928 American Olympic Committee, General Douglas MacArthur. But Robinson's triumph soon became tragedy when in 1931 she was involved in a life-threatening plane crash. Unable to assume a sprinters crouch, she nevertheless joined fellow pioneer Jesse Owens at the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics, and achieved further glory on the relay team. Journalist Joe Gergen's 'The First Lady of Olympic Track rescues an exceptional figure from obscurity. Book jacket.

Contents:

Riverdale

Amelia Earhart sailed here

Soft landing

Golden girl

Fit for a queen

New York

Parade rest

Sexual politics

Senior moment

Crash

Down and out

Heil Brundage!

Last voyage

Torch song

Power play

Third Reich, third medal

(Nazi) party time

Love and marriages

Home stretch

Legacy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780810129580

0810129582

OCLC:

857898042