Evelyn Lawler (born October 18, 1929) is a retired American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. She competed for the United States in the

80 metres hurdles 80 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling ran by women until 1972 in international competitions. Since the 1972 Summer Olympics, the event has been permanently replaced by the 100 metre hurdles. Masters athletics The distance, with different s ...

at the

1951 Pan American Games The 1951 Pan American Games (the I Pan American Games) were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the X Olympiad in Los Angeles, United States, where official ...

, finishing 6th. She is perhaps better known as the mother of (9 time) multiple Olympic gold medalist

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, ...

and Olympian, World Championship bronze medalist and sports announcer

Carol Lewis Carol LeGrant Lewis (born August 8, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump. She is the 1983 World Championship bronze medalist, and a 4-time US Champion. Her best long jump of 7.04 meters in 1985 is ...

. Lawler graduated from

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

. At one point in time she held the American record in the 80 metres hurdles. Lawler started in the sport as a sophomore in high school when her school picked 6 or 7 girls for a start up track team. Lawler was not selected but watched them practice. When it came time to compete, she asked if she could try and beat all the other girls on the team. When her school competed at a meet at Tuskegee, the coach Major

Cleveland L. Abbott Cleveland Leigh "Cleve" Abbott (some sources say "Cleveland S. Abbott") (December 9, 1894 – April 14, 1955) was an American football player, coach and educator. He was the head coach of the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers football team fr ...

invited her to come to the University. She started hurdling when the previous hurdlers including (1948 Olympian) Theresa Manuel had graduated and the coach told her she was the next hurdler. Her trip to the Pan Am games in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

was her first out of the country, the first time on a plane and first national team. By 1952, she had risen to one of the best three hurdlers in the world, but injuries prevented her from qualifying for the Olympics. She continued to participate in

Masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair comp ...

but eventually retired from the sport because she kept getting injured.

Quotes

Personal life

Her second eldest son, Cleveland Lewis, who played professional soccer, was named after her collegiate coach. She is the mother of

and

References

External links

Profile
at ''trackfield.brinkster.net'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Evelyn Living people American female hurdlers Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Pan American Games 1929 births 21st-century American women 20th-century American women