Sheila Ingram

While attending Coolidge High School in her native Washington, Sheila Ingram set a US junior record of 53.0 as a 17-year-old in 1974. Over the next two years her talent developed and in 1976 she finished second in the AAU 400 metres, won the Final Trials, and went to Montréal where she added the US senior record to the junior record that she still held. At the Olympics, Ingram set a US record of 51.31 in the quarterfinals only to lose it to Debra Sapenter (51.23) later in the same round. Sheila Ingram recaptured the record in the first semi-final with 50.90 but lost it again when Rosalyn Bryant ran 50.62 in the second semi-final. In the final, Ingram finished sixth and was later clocked in 50.0 when she ran the second stage for the relay team that took the silver medals. In the 400 metres she was world ranked #10 and US ranked #2 in 1976, her only rankings ever.

Ingram ran at St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was inducted into the National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2019, and the District of Columbia State Athletic Association High School Hall of Fame in 2020.

Personal Bests: 100y – 10.7 (1976); 200 – 23.9 (1976); 400 – 50.90 (1976).