Benita Fitzgerald Mosley (formerly Benita Fitzgerald-Brown; born July 6, 1961) is a retired American athlete, who mainly competed in the women's 100 metres hurdles event.
A native of Warrenton, Virginia, she grew up in nearby Dale City where at an early age, she began to excel in athletics and academics. After graduating from Gar-Field High School, she attended the University of Tennessee on a full athletic scholarship, where she earned a B.S. in industrial engineering. While at Tennessee, she was a fifteen-time All-American and won 4 NCAA titles, including three 100-meter outdoor hurdles championships.
She competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, where she won the Olympic Gold medal in a time of 12.84 seconds, beating favorite Shirley Strong by 0.04 seconds. Fitzgerald is only the second U.S. woman, after Babe Didrikson, and the first African-American woman, to win a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles. She was also an alternate for the 1988 United States Olympic team.
In 1996, Fitzgerald was honored as one of eight U.S. Olympians to carry the Olympic flag into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Fitzgerald has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Virginia High School Hall of Fame, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and the University of Tennessee's Lady Volunteers Hall of Fame.
Honorsedit
There is a road named after Fitzgerald in her childhood hometown of Dale City, Virginia. The street can be found off Dale Blvd. between I-95 and Minnieville Rd. Fitzgerald Elementary School, named after her mother Fannie, is located on the road. [2]
Referencesedit
^Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN978-0942257403.
benita, fitzgerald, brown, benita, fitzgerald, mosley, formerly, born, july, 1961, retired, american, athlete, mainly, competed, women, metres, hurdles, event, benita, fitzgerald, mosleypersonal, informationbornjuly, 1961, 1961, warrenton, virginia, medal, rec. Benita Fitzgerald Mosley formerly Benita Fitzgerald Brown born July 6 1961 is a retired American athlete who mainly competed in the women s 100 metres hurdles event Benita Fitzgerald MosleyPersonal informationBornJuly 6 1961 1961 07 06 age 62 Warrenton Virginia U S Medal record Women s athleticsRepresenting the United StatesOlympic Games1984 Los Angeles 100 metres hurdlesPan American Games1983 Caracas 100 metres hurdlesOlympic Boycott Games1980 Philadelphia 100 m hurdles Contents 1 Early life 2 Olympics 3 Honors 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editA native of Warrenton Virginia she grew up in nearby Dale City where at an early age she began to excel in athletics and academics After graduating from Gar Field High School she attended the University of Tennessee on a full athletic scholarship where she earned a B S in industrial engineering While at Tennessee she was a fifteen time All American and won 4 NCAA titles including three 100 meter outdoor hurdles championships Olympics editBenita Fitzgerald qualified for the 1980 U S Olympic track and field team but did not compete due to the U S Olympic Committee s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow Russia She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead 1 She competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles where she won the Olympic Gold medal in a time of 12 84 seconds beating favorite Shirley Strong by 0 04 seconds Fitzgerald is only the second U S woman after Babe Didrikson and the first African American woman to win a gold medal in the 100 meter hurdles She was also an alternate for the 1988 United States Olympic team In 1996 Fitzgerald was honored as one of eight U S Olympians to carry the Olympic flag into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta Fitzgerald has been inducted into numerous halls of fame including the Virginia High School Hall of Fame Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Tennessee s Lady Volunteers Hall of Fame Honors editThere is a road named after Fitzgerald in her childhood hometown of Dale City Virginia The street can be found off Dale Blvd between I 95 and Minnieville Rd Fitzgerald Elementary School named after her mother Fannie is located on the road 2 References edit Caroccioli Tom Caroccioli Jerry 2008 Boycott Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games Highland Park IL New Chapter Press pp 243 253 ISBN 978 0942257403 School History External links editBenita Fitzgerald Brown at World Athletics nbsp Benita Fitzgerald Brown at databaseOlympics com archived Benita Fitzgerald Brown at Olympics at Sports Reference com archived Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benita Fitzgerald Brown amp oldid 1183965809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
