Lillie Mae Leatherwood (born July 6, 1964) is an American

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competed mainly in the 400 metres.

Biography

Leatherwood was born in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

. Brought up in

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

, she attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, in the 1986 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships she captured the 400-m title with a 1st-place finish in an indoor collegiate record-setting time of 51.23s. She was also the National Champion in the 400-meter dash at the 1985 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, with a time of 53.12 seconds. Leatherwood competed for the United States 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 secon ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the 4 x 400 metres where she won the gold medal with her teammates

Sherri Howard Sherri Frances Howard (born June 1, 1962) is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard. She competed in the 1980 Olympic trials in the 400m at the age of 16, i ...

, Olympic 400 m champion

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 me ...

and 400 m silver medalist

Chandra Cheeseborough Chandra Danette Cheeseborough (later ''Shellman'', born January 10, 1959) is a retired American sprinter. She won two gold medals and a silver at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Track and field Cheeseborough broke onto the internationa ...

. Leatherwood became a member of

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...

sorority in 1986 through the Iota Eta chapter at the University of Alabama. She became married on November 20, 1986 to teammate & Olympian,

Emmit King Emmit King (March 24, 1959 – November 28, 2021) was an American track and field sprinter, who twice was a member of the American Relay Team for the Summer Olympics (1984 and 1988) but he did not compete. He is best known for winning the bronze ...

, and they are now divorced. King was a member of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

. Leatherwood now resides in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and is retired from her career with the Tuscaloosa City Police Department.

References

*
1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama American female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field World Athletics Championships medalists Alabama Crimson Tide women's track and field athletes Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Olympic female sprinters {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub