Sherri Frances Howard (born June 1, 1962) is a former

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 ...

athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

relay teammate

Denean Howard Denean Elizabeth Howard-Hill (born October 5, 1964) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. At the Olympics she competed as Miss Howard in 1984, as Mrs. Howard-Hill in 1988, and as Mrs. Hill in 1992. She competed for the ...

. She competed in the 1980 Olympic trials in the 400m at the age of 16, in which she, along with her sister Denean, 14, became the first two sisters to make an Olympic team in the same event for the United States, placing first and third respectively. Although the Olympic trials were held, President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

boycotted the Olympics for political reasons. The 1980 Olympic Team is considered to many the forgotten team. However being high schoolers at the time, they both continued competing, making the team once again in 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 sec ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the 4×400 metres where she won the gold medal with her teammates Lillie Leatherwood, 200 m and 400 m gold medalist

Valerie Brisco-Hooks Valerie Ann Brisco-Hooks (born July 6, 1960, in Greenwood, Mississippi) is an Olympian who won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold ...

and 400 m silver medalist Chandra Cheesborough. Her sister ran in the early rounds and also received a gold medal. Within the next four year, this situation would be reversed. Sherri earned a silver medal in the

1988 Summer Olympics 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 ...

held in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

as a member of the

4×400 meters relay team, where she ran in the early rounds but not the final, while her sister ran the final on the second fastest 4x400 relay team ever (surpassed only but the Soviet team who won the race). Sherri Howard and her three sisters gained fame in 1979 when the four of them teamed up to set the still standing National High School record in the 4×440 yard relay for

San Gorgonio High School San Gorgonio High School is a comprehensive senior high school in the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Its campus is located at the corner of Pacific Street and Arden Avenue on the border between San Bernardino and Highland, Californi ...

in San Bernardino. That distance was obsoleted shortly thereafter by the NFHS, but also qualified for the record of the replacement

4x400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. Later that record was broken by teams including some of the younger sisters, then at Kennedy High School (Los Angeles). Sherri was the California High School Athlete of the Year at Kennedy in 1980. Also in 1980 she was named the national Girl's "High School Athlete of the Year" by

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

. She set the still standing NFHS national high school records in the

440 yard dash The 440-yard dash, or quarter-mile race, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. In many countries, athletes compete in the 440 yard dash (402.336 m) – which corresponds to a quarter mile. Many athletic tracks are 440 yards ...

at 53.65. The federation converted record-keeping to metric distances shortly afterward. Sister Denean set the metric record that stood for 18 years. Sherri won the 1985

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

for

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

. She was elected into that school's Hall of Fame in 1992.http://calstatelaathletics.com/mobile/hof.aspx?hof=40

Later accomplishments

Sherri Howard is featured on the cover of the Spring 2007 catalog for Purity Products, an American vitamin company. She is pursuing an acting career, including the role of Queen Isis in ''

The Scorpion King ''The Scorpion King'' is a 2002 American sword and sorcery action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is both a prequel and spin-off of ''The ...

''. Currently, she is not only an actress, model, motivational speaker and commentator, but also a personal trainer, helping numerous kids excel in their goals as well as their future endeavours.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Sherri 1962 births Living people Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field American female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics California State University, Los Angeles alumni Track and field athletes from California Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic female sprinters 21st-century American women