Roxanne "Roxy" Andersen (née Atkins, 26 June 1912 – 6 September 2002) was a Canadian

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 eve ...

athlete. She won a gold medal at the 1934

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

and a silver medal at the 1936 US Indoor Championships. Apart from competing in athletics, Andersen was the Pacific chair of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

from 1950 to 1976. In 1991, Andersen was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

Personal life

On 26 June 1912, Andersen was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Andersen died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on 6 September 2002. Andersen was married with no children.

Career

Andersen began her athletic career with the Canadian Ladies Athletic Club. She broke the Canadian record 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 ...

event in 1932 and won gold in the Canadian hurdles championship in 1935. Additional records that Andersen held were in the 50 metres hurdles and 90 yards hurdles events. Competing in the United States, Andersen won gold at the 1934

and silver at the 1936 USA Indoor Championships. In international competitions, she participated in the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events we ...

1934 Women's World Games The 1934 Women's World Games (french: 4è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux) were the fourth edition of the international games for women. The tournament was held between 9–11 August at the White City Stadium in London, United Kingdom.

, and the 1936 Summer Olympics. After World War II, Andersen went to

with her husband and became an American citizen. She served as the Pacific district chair of the

from 1950 to 1976. With the

United States national track and field team The United States national athletics (track and field) team represents the United States in international athletics competitions such as the Olympic Games or the World Athletics Championships. Medal tables The United States have 25 participat ...

, she worked with the team at the 1956 Summer Olympics,

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

Awards and honors

Andersen was inducted into the

in 1991.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Roxy 1912 births 2002 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Canadian female hurdlers Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Anglophone Quebec people Athletes from Montreal Canadian emigrants to the United States