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Outlook: The forgotten story of a pioneering Olympic Champion

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Wyomia Tyus on the victory stand after winning gold in the 100m in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo

17/02/2022 GMT

The forgotten story of a pioneering Olympic Champion

BBC World Service - Outlook, The forgotten story of a pioneering Olympic Champion

Wyomia Tyus was the first person to win gold in the 100m in two consecutive Olympic Games

Wyomia Tyus started running to get over the grief of losing her father, eventually winning gold in the 100m in two consecutive Olympic Games.

American sprinter Wyomia Tyus grew up on a dairy farm in Georgia, in the racially segregated South. When she was 14, tragedy struck her family - their house burned to the ground, and her father died shortly after. Bereft, Wyomia started running to get over her grief. She was soon spotted by the coach of the first - and only - college athletics training programme for black women in the US, and became the first person to win back to back gold medals in the 100m sprint in two consecutive Olympic Games in 1964 and 1968. Yet despite these historic achievements it is only now that she is getting recognition. She tells Anu Anand how it feels to finally get her moment in the spotlight.  
 
Another woman breaking barriers – both literal and symbolic - mountaineer Rosemary was part of the first African-American team to climb America’s highest mountain when she was 19. Now she’s inspiring young black children to do the same. She spoke to Outlook’s Rhianna Dillon in 2019.  

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Anu Anand

(Photo: Medal winners of the women's 100 metres in the 1964 Olympic Games, with Wyomia Tyus in first place. Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images)

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