Tidye Pickett

Last updated
Tidye Pickett
Tidye Pickett.png
Personal information
Full nameTidye Ann Pickett
Sport
Sport Track and field

Tidye Pickett [1] (November 3, 1914 – November 17, 1986) [2] was an American track and field athlete. She represented the United States in the 80-meter hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, becoming the first African-American woman to compete in the Olympic Games. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including interviews with Pickett's family, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice . [3]

Biography

Picket was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 3, 1914. [2] Her parents were Sarah Pickett, a factory clerk, and Louis Pickett, a foundry foreman. [4] She grew up in Englewood, a Chicago neighborhood. [5]

She took up running as a schoolgirl; after competing in some local meets she caught the attention of long jumper John Brooks, who began to coach her. [5] At the 1932 United States Olympic Trials Pickett competed in the 100-meter dash, winning her heat and placing third in her semi-final; she qualified for the final, where she placed sixth. [6] :77 [7] :183–184 Pickett was named to the American Olympic team as part of the eight-woman 4 × 100 meter relay pool; she and Louise Stokes, who was also part of the relay pool, were the first African-American women to be selected for the Olympic Games, [8] but both of them were left out of the final four-woman relay lineup that ran at the Olympics. [9] [10] Pickett and Stokes suffered racial discrimination during their Olympic trip; [8] whether racism also played a role in their omission from the Olympic relay is disputed and unclear. [9] [10]

Pickett continued her running career; in 1934 she ran the opening leg on a Chicago Park District team that set an unofficial world record of 48.6 in the 4 × 110 yard relay. [11] :294 At the 1936 United States Olympic Trials she competed in the 80-meter hurdles, placing second and qualifying for the Olympics in Berlin. [6] :86 At the Olympics, Pickett survived the heats but went out in the semi-finals, falling at the second hurdle and injuring herself; [7] :227 [6] :86 she was the first African-American woman, as well as the first Illinois State University athlete, to compete in the Olympic Games. [6] :86 [12]

Pickett later became a schoolteacher, serving as principal at an elementary school in East Chicago Heights until her retirement in 1980; when she retired, the school was renamed after her. [8] She died in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on November 17, 1986. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilma Rudolph</span> African American athlete (1940–1994)

Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American sprinter who overcame childhood polio and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. She also won three gold medals, in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Rudolph was acclaimed the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Griffith Joyner</span> American track and field hurdle athlete (1959–1998)

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded. She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late 1980s, she became a popular figure due to both her record-setting athleticism and eclectic personal style.

Tonja Yvette Buford-Bailey is an American former Olympian who competed mainly in the 400 meter hurdles. She competed as Tonja Buford until marrying Victor Bailey on October 28, 1995. In 1982, when she was 12 years old, she met former track runner Wilma Rudolph. She attended Meadowdale High School in Dayton and the University of Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Jamaica sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. This was, by far, Jamaica's best showing at the Summer Olympics; it was the nation's largest delegation yet, and its athletes nearly doubled its total gold medal count in addition to breaking the nation's record for number of medals earned in a single games. Jamaica's appearance at Beijing was its fifteenth consecutive appearance and appearance as an independent nation, although it had previously participated in four other games as a British colony and as part of the West Indies Federation. In the 29 events that included Jamaican athletes, there were 26 cases in which a Jamaican athlete or relay progressed to a final round. Usain Bolt won three of Jamaica's six gold medals at Beijing, breaking an Olympic and world record in all three of the events in which he participated. Shelly-Ann Fraser led an unprecedented Jamaican sweep of the medals in the Women's 100 m. Female sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown carried Jamaica's flag at the ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Trinidad and Tobago sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Its participation in the Beijing games marked its eighteenth Olympic appearance and fifteenth Summer Olympic appearance since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, excluding its joint participation with Jamaica and Barbados in 1960 as the West Indies Federation. With 28 athletes, more Trinidadians had competed at the Olympics than in any other single Olympic Games in its history before Beijing. Athletes representing Trinidad and Tobago advanced past the preliminary or qualification rounds in twelve events and reached the final rounds in four of those events. Of those four events, silver medals were won in the men's 100 meters and in the men's 4x100 meters relay. The latter was upgraded to gold due to one member of the quartet that crossed the line first, Nesta Carter, testing positive for a banned substance, resulting in their disqualification. The nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony that year was swimmer and Athens medalist George Bovell.

Willie James Smith III was an American athlete who was the national champion 400 metres runner in 1979-80, and a gold medal winner at the 1984 Olympics in the 4 × 400 m relay.

Esther Stroy is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprinting events. She is best known for competing at the 1968 Olympics in the 400-meter dash as a 15-year-old, the youngest competitor at those games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalilah Muhammad</span> American hurdler (born 1990)

Dalilah Muhammad is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2016 Rio Olympics champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, becoming at the latter the then-second-fastest woman of all time in the event with her personal best of 51.58 seconds. Muhammad was second at both the 2013 and 2017 World Championships to take her first gold in 2019, setting the former world record of 52.16 s. She was the second female 400 m hurdler in history, after Sally Gunnell, to have won the Olympic, World titles and broken the world record. At both the 2019 World Championships and Tokyo Games, she also took gold as part of women's 4 × 400 metres relay team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Spencer (athlete)</span> American sprinter (born 1993)

Ashley Spencer is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. In the 400m hurdles, she is the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. In the 400m, she is the 2012 World Junior Champion and the 2016 World Indoor silver medalist. She is coached by 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Tonya Buford-Bailey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd Smart</span>

Floyd George Smart was an American track and field athlete. Smart was United States champion in the 440 yd hurdles in 1917 and 1919 and in the long jump in 1919.

The 1932 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held on July 15 and July 16, 1932 and decided the United States team for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The trials for men and women were held separately; men competed in Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, while women competed in Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Both meetings also served as the annual United States outdoor track and field championships. For the first time, only the top three athletes in each event qualified for the Olympics; until 1928, every nation had been allowed four entrants per event.

The 1928 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held between July 3 and July 7, 1928 and decided the United States team for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. For the first time, women's track and field was part of the Olympic program. The trials for men and women were held separately; men competed at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 6 and July 7, while women competed at City Field in Newark, New Jersey on July 4. Three of the men's events were contested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between July 3 and July 5.

The 1936 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held in July 1936 and decided the United States team for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The trials for men and women were held separately; men's events were held at Randall's Island Stadium in New York City on July 11 and July 12, while women competed at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island on July 4. The top three athletes in each event qualified for the Olympic Games. The women's meeting also served as the annual outdoor track and field championships of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU); the men's AAU championships were held separately a week before the Olympic trials.

Harold William Manning was an American long-distance runner. He held the American record in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase from 1934 to 1952 and briefly held the world best in 1936. He represented the United States in the steeplechase at the 1936 Summer Olympics, placing fifth.

John William Brooks was an American long jumper. He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, placing seventh in the long jump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne O'Brien (athlete)</span> American athlete (1911–2007)

Anne Marie Vrana O'Brien was an American sprinter. She represented the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the 100 meters and at the 1936 Summer Olympics in the 80-meter hurdles. In 1932 she equaled the 80-meter hurdles world record, but fell at the Olympic Trials and missed the Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Stokes</span> American track and field athlete

Louise Mae Stokes Fraser was an American track and field athlete.

Barbara Ann Mueller is a retired American track and field athlete. She represented the United States at the 1956 Olympics, running the 80 meters hurdles. Her 11.6 did not get her out of the heats. A versatile athlete, she won the pentathlon at the US National Championships in 1955 and 1956, both times defeating Stella Walsh. While finishing second to Cuban Bertha Diaz, she was National Champion in the hurdles in 1955 as the first American in the race. She won the 1954 National Indoor Championship in the 50 yard hurdles. She also ran hurdles in the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sha'Carri Richardson</span> American sprinter (born 2000)

Sha'Carri Richardson is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters races. Richardson rose to fame in 2019 as a freshman at Louisiana State University, running 10.75 seconds to break the 100 m collegiate record at the NCAA Division I Championships. This winning time made her one of the ten fastest women in history at 19 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Cockrell</span> American track and field athlete

Anna Cockrell is an American track and field athlete competing in sprinting and hurdling. She is a two-time medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in 400 m hurdles event.

References

  1. Most sources indicate that Tidye was Pickett's official first name. Sports Reference gives her name as Theodora Ann "Tidye" Pickett, followed here. On January 12, 1920, the United States Census Bureau recorded her name as "Tidy Pickett". FamilySearch .
  2. 1 2 3 "Tidye Pickett". Sports Reference: Olympic Sports. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  3. Henderson, Odie (2016-08-05). "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  4. "Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920––Population". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  5. 1 2 Stout, Glenn (4 April 2011). Yes, She Can!: Women's Sports Pioneers. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   9780547574097.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Tricard, Louise Mead (January 1996). American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980, Volume 1. McFarland. ISBN   9780786402199 . Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Heise, Kenan (November 23, 1986). "Tidye Ann Phillips, Olympian And Principal". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Book Reviews" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. p. 46. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Wilson, Wayne. "Book Reviews" (PDF). Olympika: The International Journal of Olympic Studies. p. 138.
  11. Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre. "IAAF World Records Progression" (PDF) (2015 ed.). International Association of Athletics Federations . Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  12. "Tidye Ann Pickett-Phillips Bio". Illinois State University Official Athletic Site. Retrieved November 12, 2015.