Chandra Danette Cheeseborough (later ''Shellman'', born January 10, 1959) is a retired American sprinter. She won two gold medals and a silver 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 Los Angeles.

Track and field

Cheeseborough broke onto the international track scene at age 16 by winning two gold medals at the 1975

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, taking the 200 m in an American record time of 22.77 seconds. In 1976, she set the World junior record at 11.13 seconds by placing second at the U.S. Olympic trials, she then placed sixth in that event at the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Cheeseborough graduated from

Jean Ribault High School Jean Ribault High School is a public high school located in North Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of Duval County Public Schools. Improvement Ribault was one of 16 schools nationwide selected by the College Board for inclusion in the EXCELerat ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

in 1977, where she set the still standing NFHS national high school records in both the 100 yard (10.3) and 220 yard (23.3) dashes. The federation converted record-keeping to metric distances shortly afterward. Next she attended

Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

, where she was a member of national championship teams that set world indoor records of 1:08.9 minutes in the 640-yard relay and 1:47.17 in the 800-yard sprint medley relay. She qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. She did however receive one of 461

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 ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. She won the national indoor 200-yard dash in 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983. Cheeseborough's breakthrough year in the 400 m came in 1984, when she set two American records in the event, then placed second in the Los Angeles Olympics in a career best of 49.05. The 49.05 still ranks her as the #10 performer of all time. She made history at the 1984 Games when she became the first woman to win gold medals in both relays, which were held less than an hour apart. Cheeseborough also became only the second athlete, after

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...

60 years earlier, to win two separate Olympic running events in a single day.

Coach

Cheeseborough later became a coach and returned to Tennessee State. She was named head coach of both men and women in 1999. She also has served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the 1999 Junior Pan-Am Championships. In March 2007 it was announced that Cheeseborough would be the assistant coach for the 2008 Olympic team. Cheeseborough coached the sprints and hurdles for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As head women’s track and cross-country coach at Tennessee State, her alma mater, she led the Tigerbelles to six Ohio Valley Conference championships.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheeseborough, Chandra 1959 births Sportspeople from Jacksonville, Florida Track and field athletes from Florida American female sprinters Living people Tennessee State Lady Tigers track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Congressional Gold Medal recipients Goodwill Games medalists in athletics USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters