Wyomia Tyus

Wyomia Tyus ( born August 29, 1945 in Griffin, Georgia) is a former American track and field athlete. She won 1964 and 1968 three Olympic gold medals.

Career

After finishing school Tyus started studying at the Tennessee State University. At the age of 19 she took in 1964 at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in part. Already in the run over 100 meters equaled Tyus with 11.2 seconds the three -year-old world record of Wilma Rudolph. In the final, they then distanced their sharpest counterparty to Edith McGuire by two-tenths and was in 11.4 seconds Olympic champion. Together with Willye White, Marilyn White and Edith McGuire Tyus competed in the 4x100 - meter relay. In 43.9 seconds, the U.S. relay team finished second behind Poland.

In the years that Tyus won numerous national titles in the sprint disciplines and a gold medal over 200 meters at the Pan American Games. In 1968, she competed at the Olympic Games in Mexico City again about 100 m and placed in the final with a world record 11.0 seconds. It was the first time that an athlete could repeat an Olympic gold medal in the 100 -meter run. In the final 200 meters Tyus was sixth. As a final leg of the U.S. 4x100 - meter relay, she ran to her second world record. The victory of the season was her third Olympic victory.

After the Olympic Games to Tyus retired from active competitive sports, married Duane Tillman, mother of two children was and worked as a trainer. In 1980, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Association of Athletics Federations. In 1999, she led Sports Illustrated to the list of 100 greatest athletes of the century.