Olympic gold medalist, Alice Coachman, Davis died at 90-years-old. Davis was the first black woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal after she competed in the high jump at the 1948 Olympics in London.
Davis was born in Albany, Georgia, and began competing in track and field as a teen in AAU. She eventually competed at Tuskegee University and won national championships in track in 1941 and 1942.
She would have competed in the Olympic games in 1940 and 1944, but the games were canceled due to Wolrd War II.
Davis finally got an opportunity to compete in 1948 and took home the gold medal in London. After her victory, she met with President Harry Truman who congratulated her on the victory. However, the mayor of Albany maintained his racist views and would not shake Davis’ hand because she was black.
Davis continued to coach track once she retired from the sport. She has an elementary school in Albany named in her honor.
