- Mae Faggs
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Olympic medal record Women’s athletics Competitor for the United States
Gold 1952 Helsinki 4x100 metres relay Bronze 1956 Melbourne 4x100 metres relay Pan American Games Silver 1955 Mexico City 100 metres Gold 1955 Mexico City 4×100 metre Heriwentha ("Mae") Faggs Starr1 (April 10, 1932 in Bayside, New York – January 27, 2000 in Cincinnati) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the sprint events. She graduated from Bayside High School, and then went to Tennessee State University to run under Hall of Fame coach Ed Temple, one of the first U.S. women to receive an athletic scholarship.
She competed for the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland where she won the gold medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay with her teammates Barbara Jones, Janet Moreau and Catherine Hardy. Four years later she went to the Melbourne 1956 Games as the sole returnee from the 1952 Games relay team, and teamed up with Margaret Matthews, Wilma Rudolph and Isabelle Daniels but failed to retain the title, only managing to come away with the bronze medal.[1]
In 1955, she won the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 100 yard dash, in 10.8, record time.[2] USATF reports her personal record as 10.70, though fully automatic timing was extremely rare and only experimental during her career. She repeated winning the 100 metres the following year in 11.7. She also won the 200 metres or 220 yards three times in a row, 1954-1956.[3] Indoors, she won the 220 yard dash 6 times between 1949 (as a 16 year-old) and 1956, equalling Stella Walsh (who was later determined to be of ambiguous gender) for the most championships by an individual athlete in that event.[4]
In 1976, she was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[5]
References
- ^ Black Olympian Medalists, Page, James A., introduction by Reynold s. ONeal, track and field statistician (consultant). 1991 by Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
- ^ http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/women/w100m.asp
- ^ http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/women/w200m.asp
- ^ http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/women/w200m.asp
- ^ "Mae Faggs". usatf.org. USA Track & Field, Inc.. http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=53. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
External links
Categories:- 1932 births
- 2000 deaths
- American sprinters
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Queens
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- American track and field athletics Olympic medalist stubs
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