The First Lady of Olympic Track: The Life and Times of Betty Robinson (Chicago Lives) - Softcover

Gergen, Joe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810129582 ISBN 13: 9780810129580

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 2014

Synopsis

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 organised 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 sprinter’s 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.

About this title

About the Author

Joe Gergen was a sports writer and columnist for Newsday for forty years. He also has written for numerous other publications, including Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, and New York magazine. His previous books include The Final Four (1987) and, with Ralph Kiner, Kiner’s Korner (1987).

Edition details

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810129582
• ISBN 13: 9780810129580
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208