Louise Dorothy Ritter (born February 18, 1958) 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 won the gold medal in 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 ...

at the

1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1 ...

Biography

Ritter qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. She did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. Louise won the gold medal in the women's high jump at 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 city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In doing so she upset

Stefka Kostadinova Stefka Georgieva Kostadinova ( bg, Стефка Георгиева Костадинова; born March 25, 1965) is a Bulgarian retired athlete who competed in the high jump. Her world record of 2.09 metres has stood since 1987. She was the 1996 ...

, the reigning world champion and world record-holder in the event. A graduate from Red Oak High School she now has a street named after her located in her former home town of Red Oak, TX. She graduated from Texas Woman's University in 1988 where she starred for U.S. Olympic coach Dr. Bert Lyle. She was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2012.

Achievements

* 4 Times US National Champion (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986) * 3 Times won US Olympic Trials (1980, 1984, 1988) Note: During the 1980s, the US Championships and US Olympic trials were separate events.

References

External links

* * * * 1958 births Living people American female high jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Congressional Gold Medal recipients Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Dallas Track and field athletes from Dallas Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field coaches World Athletics Championships medalists Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games 21st-century American women {{US-highjump-athletics-bio-stub