Track and Field History with Jesse Squire
Sports:Running
We're going to take a look at one of America's greatest and most forgotten competitors – Earlene Brown. She is the greatest American women's thrower of the 20th century.
Four years ago, Michelle Carter won the women's shot put title at the Rio Olympics. She was the first American woman to win gold in that event at the Olympics. She was the first medalist since Brown in 1960. Brown is the only other woman to have won an Olympic shot put medal beside Carter.
In 1958, Brown finished the year ranked No. 1 in the world in the shot put. The only other American woman to do that is Carter.
She went on to win her bronze in the discus and finished 6th in the discus at the 1960 Olympics. Four years later, she finished 12th in the shot put at the 1964 Games. She became the first woman to compete in three Olympic shot puts. Not the first American woman but the first woman from anywhere in the world to accomplish the feat.
Then throwing ran its course for Brown...she moved on to another pro sport – roller derby. She stayed in that sport for 11 years.
"When I was young I was ashamed of my size," she once said. "I never thought something of which I was ashamed -- my size and my strength -- could make me feel proud. But I am proud now."
Here's a 1967 Interview with Brown: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/190890
▶ Follow CITIUS MAG: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag
✩ Connect with Jesse and the show via Email: trackhistorypod@gmail.com | twitter.com/tracksuperfan
Revisiting Running Movies: 'On the Edge' Starring Bruce Dern
The Early-70s International Track Association
Sportswriter Ken Goe Reflects on 43 Years At The Oregonian And Covering Track & Field
The Marathon of Hate: Behind the Bowling Green-Toledo Rivalry
Ekidens In America: Behind the Michigan Pro Ekiden And Race Innovation
A Lasting Message Of Hope: Terry Fox's Run Across Canada, 40 Years Later
Detroit's Unfulfilled Olympic Dreams
Revisiting The Amazing Dr. Meriwether
Ron Hill's Legacy Is Everywhere
Jim Peters Deserves More Credit
One of The Most-Watched Sprint Races: Conrad vs. Kaplan Revisited
The Top 10 Greatest Canadian Track and Field Athletes Since World War II
When College Track and Field Had Much Less Money
The Influence of Don Canham
Joan Benoit Samuelson: The Greatest American Distance Runner of All-Time
One of the Sport's Greatest Rivalries: Marty Liquori vs. Jim Ryun
Why Jim Bush Was The Greatest College Coach of All-Time
Introducing Track and Field History with Jesse Squire
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The CITIUS MAG Podcast with Chris Chavez | A Running + Track and Field Show
The CITIUS MAG Podcast with Chris Chavez | A Running + Track and Field Show
More Than Running with Dana Giordano
Showrunners with Scott Fauble
Full Tub with Nick Roché: A Jacuzzi Boys Podcast