Alice Brown (athlete)

Alice Regina Brown (b. September 20, 1960 in Jackson, Mississippi) [ [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/br/alice-brown-1.html Biography of Alice Brown.] (2008). Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2008.] is a retired American sprinter; who attended California State University, Northridge. She was a silver medalist in the 1984 Olympic 100m final in a time of 11.13 seconds behind Evelyn Ashford.

She was a very fast starter, it was this consistent ability that led to her being the 1st leg runner in two US Olympic 4x100 Relay teams 1984- 88, both teams winning the gold.

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games the U.S. relay team won the gold medal beating Canada by over a second, the greatest winning margin in the event's history. This was due to a very strong team which included all three U.S sprinters that made the 100m final and Brown's superb start. The US were clear favourites as the GDR and USSR teams who would have provided stiff competition were absent due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. The team was never seriously challenged, leading from gun to tape and triumphing with a time of 41.60 seconds, one of the fastest times in history.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games all nations were present for the first time since the Montréal games in 1976. In the final of the Women’s 4x100 Relay all the strongest nations were present except for the Jamaicans who were non starters.

Alice Brown once again led the United States challenge running the first leg, in a superb piece of relay running she left the field trailing in her wake, by the time she handed over to Sheila Echols (2nd Leg), she had caught and was passing the Bulgarian athlete in the next lane. Florence Griffith-Joyner (3rd Leg) took over and ran solidly, handed over to Evelyn Ashford (anchor) who in very impressive fashion made up three metres on Marlies Göhr and led the US team to victory by a clear metre. The winning time was down (41.97 seconds) on the U.S record due to sloppy baton exchanges. It was superior basic speed and sheer talent that won the U.S their second consecutive gold in this event.

In 1987 Alice won 4x100 relay Gold at the World Championships Rome, Italy. A very strong and well-drilled team consisting of Diane Williams (2nd Leg), Florence Griffith-Joyner (3rd Leg) and Pam Marshall (anchor) were favorite. They won their semi-final with a time over a second faster than the usually dominant GDR team. They went on to win the final from the GDR team (Silver), clocking a time of 41.58 CR, which was a U.S record at the time, and still ranks as one of the fastest times in history.

Height 1.57 m (5'2")

Weight 56 kg (123 lb) (1987)

Major results

Olympics

100 m

1984 Silver

4x100 m Relay

1984 Gold, 1988 Gold

World Championships

100 m

1987 Semi Final

4x100 m Relay

1987 Gold

References

External sources

The International Track Field Annual 1987/88

ISBN 0-671-69917-2