Theresa Manuel (January 7, 1926 – November 21, 2016) was an American basketball player and track athlete who competed in the 80-meter hurdles,

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

, and 4x440 yard relay in the

1948 Olympics 1948 Olympics may refer to: *The 1948 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an internation ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Danielson, Richard.
Tampa's Theresa Manuel, pioneering black Olympian, dies at 90
" ''Tampa Bay Times'', November 23, 2016. She attended Middleton High School in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and the

Tuskegee Institute 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 de ...

. She taught and coached at Middleton High School and Hillsborough High School for a total of 38 years.Parker, Elisabeth.
Black Olympian, coach, teacher marks 85 years of quiet determination
" ''Tampa Bay Times'', February 10, 2011.

Personal life

Manuel was born on January 7, 1926, in

Port Tampa Port Tampa is a neighborhood in the southwestern most portion within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, on the western end of the Interbay Peninsula where the main port used to be. Within this neighborhood is Picnic Island Park as well as West Sh ...

. She attended Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida, and the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama. After graduating, she was engaged to be married but returned to Tampa to care for her ill mother instead. She remained in Florida for the entirety of her life and never married.Levy, Art.
Theresa Manuel
" ''Florida Trend'' (St. Petersburg), October 2016, 59th ed., sec. 7.

Death

She died on November 21, 2016, at the age of 90.

Athletic career

Manuel played basketball at Middleton High School, and continued to play at Tuskegee, earning the nickname “Trick Shot.” She set a single-game record in basketball of 57 points while at Tuskegee. She also started running track in college, and was the AAU indoor 50-meter hurdles champion in 1948, her third year at Tuskegee.Odom, Ersula Knox.
African Americans of Tampa
'. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2014. 107. Tuskegee was undefeated in track and basketball during Manuel's time there. In 1948, she joined the Olympic team and competed in the 80-meter hurdles, javelin, and 4x440 yard relay in the 1948 Olympics in London. She was the first African American woman to compete in the javelin at the

Olympics 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 ...

and the first black woman from Florida to compete in the Olympics. Manuel did not medal, but her teammate

Alice Coachman Alice Marie Coachman Davis (November 9, 1923 – July 14, 2014) was an American Athletics (sport), athlete. She specialized in high jump and was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Biography Early life and education Alice Coach ...

won the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, becoming the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold.

Coaching career

After graduating Tuskegee, Manuel became a teacher and basketball coach at her alma mater, Middleton High School. She coached the girls basketball team through three state championships. When Middleton closed in 1971, she moved to Hillsborough High and coached basketball, swimming,

majorettes A majorette is a baton twirler whose twirling performance is often accompanied by dance, movement, or gymnastics; they are primarily associated with marching bands during parades. Majorettes can also spin knives, fire knives, flags, light-up ba ...

, and dancerettes. She was named Hillsborough County Coach of the Year in 1975 and Florida Coach of the Year in 1976. She retired in 1988. In 1994, Manuel became first African-American woman to be inducted into the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, the track at Middleton High School was named the Theresa A. Manuel Track and Field.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Theresa 1926 births 2016 deaths African-American track and field athletes American female track and field athletes American female javelin throwers American female hurdlers Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women