With three golds and one silver medal, Wyomia Tyus of Tennessee State was the most successful of all U.S. women track & field athletes at the Olympics, marks later equalled by Florence Griffith Joyner. She also has the distinction of being the first athlete – male or female – to successfully defend an Olympic 100 m title. She won the 100 m title in 1964 with a new world record of 11.2 and in July 1965 brought the record down to 11.1, having two weeks earlier claimed a share of the 100 y record with a 10.3 clocking. In 1968 she again won the Olympic 100 m, again setting a world record (11.0) in doing so. Although she never posted a world record in the longer sprint, she won two AAU titles at 200 m/220 y to add to her three victories at 100 m/100 y. She also won the AAU Indoor 60 y three times and was the 200 m champion at the 1967 Pan American Games.
Personal Bests: 100y – 10.3 (1965); 100 – 11.08 (1968); 200 – 23.08 (1968).
United States