Alice Regina Brown (born September 20, 1960) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sprinter. Competing at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics she won two relay gold medals and an individual silver medal. She attended

John Muir High School (Pasadena, California) John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir. History In 1926 the Pasadena Un ...

and

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

1980 Olympics

Brown 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, USSR. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

instead.

1984 Olympics

Noted for her fast start, she was the 1st leg runner in two US Olympic 4×100 Relay teams 1984–88, both teams winning the gold. At the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, in the individual 100 metres, Brown and American teammate Jeanette Bolden charged out to the lead, only to be overtaken by world record holder

Evelyn Ashford Evelyn Ashford (born April 15, 1957) is an American retired track and field athlete, the 1984 Olympic Games, Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash. She ran under the 11-second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in a ...

, with Brown clearly taking the silver medal. Later, the U.S. relay team won the gold medal beating Canada by over a second, the greatest winning margin in the event's history. This was due to a very strong team which included all three U.S sprinters that made the 100 m final and Brown's superb start. The US were clear favourites as the GDR and

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

teams who would have provided stiff competition were absent due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. The team was never seriously challenged, leading from gun to tape and triumphing with a time of 41.65 seconds, one of the fastest times in history. Shortly after the Olympics, she competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

at the

Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Su ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, which were held as an event for sportspeople from Communist countries who were boycotting that year's Olympics: the only US track athlete to enter the competition, she was unable to repeat her Olympic medal success there.

1987 World Championship

In 1987 Alice won 4×100 relay Gold at the World Championships Rome, Italy. A very strong and well-drilled team consisting of Diane Williams (2nd Leg), Florence Griffith-Joyner (3rd Leg) and Pam Marshall (anchor) were favorite. They won their semi-final with a time over a second faster than the usually dominant GDR team. They went on to win the final from the GDR team (Silver), clocking a time of 41.58 CR, which was a U.S record at the time, and still ranks as one of the fastest times in history.

1988 Olympics

In the 1988

Seoul Olympic Games The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

all nations were present for the first time since the Montréal games in 1976. In the final of the Women's 4×100 Relay all the strongest nations were present except for the Jamaicans who were non starters. Alice Brown once again led the United States challenge running the first leg. In a superb piece of relay running, she left the field trailing in her wake. By the time she handed over to

Sheila Echols Sheila Ann Echols (born October 2, 1964) is a retired track and field athlete from the United States who competed in the 100 metres and the long jump. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in the 4 x 100 m relay. She also won the 19 ...

(2nd Leg), she had caught and was passing the Bulgarian athlete in the next lane.

Florence Griffith-Joyner Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late ...

(3rd Leg) took over and ran solidly, handed over to Evelyn Ashford (anchor), who in very impressive fashion made up three metres on

Marlies Göhr Marlies Göhr (née Oelsner, born 21 March 1958 in Gera, Bezirk Gera) is a former East German track and field athlete, the winner of the 100 metres at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. She ranked in the top 10 of the 100 m world r ...

and led the US team to victory by a clear metre. The winning time was down (41.98 seconds) on the U.S record due to sloppy baton exchanges. It was superior basic speed and sheer talent that won the U.S their second consecutive gold in this event.

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