Alice Coachman, born November 8, 1923 in Albany, Georgia, is the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal. She represented the US at the 1948 Olympics in London, in the women's high jump, defeating England's Dorothy Tyler. King George VI presented her medal.
She was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, she was honored as one of the 100 Greatest Olympians. She has also been inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame (1975) and the US Olympic Hall of Fame (2004).
She passed away from cardiac arrest in Albany, Georgia in July 2014.
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