CBS Sports will be honoring Black athletes during Black History Month with a series of vignettes that will air on CBS Sports Network. Former Olympic athlete Alice Coachman is the subject of one.
Coachman was the first Black woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics. The American star came away with a gold medal in the high jump event in the 1948 games. Coachman had a high jump of 5 feet 4 inches, which broke a previous record by 3/4 of an inch. She was the only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948.
Coachman had planned to compete in the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, but both were canceled as a result of World War II. Despite only competing in the 1948 Olympics, Coachman was still honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians during a ceremony at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She also was inducted into both the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004.
The vignettes will be airing across CBS Sports Network and other CBS Sports digital properties.
“It is imperative that we at CBS Sports, and as an industry, work towards a more diverse and inclusive landscape,” CBS Sports executive producer and executive vice president Harold Bryant said. “Telling these stories of Black athletes is incredibly important, and we are proud that many of our Black employees have the opportunity to lead these productions. These vignettes written, produced and edited by Black CBS Sports employees continue that necessary mission of utilizing our resources in front of and behind the camera to push for more diversity and inclusion.”