Barbara Ann Ferrell, Mrs. Edmonson (born July 28, 1947, Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American former

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 who competed mainly in the 100-metre dash. She was the U.S. national champion in that event in 1967 and 1969 and is a member of the U.S. National Track & Field Hall of Fame. Ferrell competed for the United States at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

held in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the 100 metres, where she finished second to teammate and 1964 gold medalist Wyomia Tyus. She finished fourth in the 200 metres final. The two then joined with fellow Americans

Margaret Bailes Margaret Johnson Bailes (born January 23, 1951) is an American athlete who competed in the 100 and 200 meters. Early life Margaret Johnson Bailes was born in the Bronx. When she was five, she moved to Eugene, Oregon with her family after her fa ...

and

Mildrette Netter Mildrette Netter (born June 16, 1948 in Rosedale, Mississippi) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100 meters. She competed for the United States in the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico in the 4 x 100 meters where ...

to take the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, after a season in which she had been hampered by injury, Ferrell finished seventh in the 100 metres final, and was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200 metres. She was named to the U.S. National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1988 and, that same year, to the Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame. Ferrell served as women's track coach at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, and while there became one of the few female coaches in an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

program to handle both the men's and women's sprinters. She was named head coach for the women's track and field and cross country programs at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

in 2002. Ferrell, also known as Coach E, retired as the head track coach at

San Marino High School San Marino High School (SMHS) is a public high school in San Marino, California, United States, and the only high school in the San Marino Unified School District, Los Angeles County. According to the 2015 California Academic Performance Index S ...

and passed the position onto her former pupil Jeff Williams. Ferrell obtained her bachelor's degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

from California State College, Los Angeles, now

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, ...

, in 1969. She was inducted into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986. She is married to former

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

football and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

track great Warren Edmonson, who has served as head track and field coach at

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

since 2002. While competing for St. Bernard High School, their daughters Malika and Miya were a key component of the school's national record-setting

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

team. Their record set in 1997 lasted for seven years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrell, Barbara Living people 1947 births Track and field athletes from California Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi American female sprinters African-American female 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 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women