 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tidye Ann Pickett |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
Tidye Pickett[1] (November 3, 1914 – November 17, 1986)[2] was Americantrack and field athlete. She represented the United States in the80-meter hurdles at the1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, becoming the first African-American woman to compete in theOlympic Games. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including interviews with Pickett's family, was documented in the filmOlympic Pride, American Prejudice.[3]
Pickett was born inChicago, Illinois, on November 3, 1914.[2] Her parents were Sarah Pickett, a factory clerk, and Louis Pickett, a foundry foreman.[4] She grew up inEnglewood, a Chicago neighborhood.[5]
She took up running as a schoolgirl; after competing in some local meets she caught the attention of long jumperJohn Brooks, who began to coach her.[5] At the1932 United States Olympic Trials Pickett competed in the100-meter dash, winning her heat and placing third in her semi-final; she qualified for the final, where she placed sixth.[6]: 77 [7]: 183–184 Pickett was named to theAmerican Olympic team as part of the eight-woman4 × 100 meter relay pool; she andLouise Stokes, who was also part of the relay pool, were the first African-American women to be selected for the Olympic Games,[8] but both of them were left out of the final four-woman relay lineup that ran at the Olympics.[9][10] Pickett and Stokes sufferedracial discrimination during their Olympic trip;[8] whether racism also played a role in their omission from the Olympic relay is disputed and unclear.[9][10]
Pickett continued her running career; in 1934 she ran the opening leg on a Chicago Park District team that set an unofficialworld record of 48.6 in the 4 × 110 yard relay.[11]: 294 At the1936 United States Olympic Trials she competed in the80-meter hurdles, placing second and qualifying for the Olympics inBerlin.[6]: 86 At the Olympics, Pickett survived the heats but went out in the semi-finals, falling at the second hurdle and injuring herself;[7]: 227 [6]: 86 she was the first African-American woman, as well as the firstIllinois State University athlete, to compete in the Olympic Games.[6]: 86 [12]
Pickett later became a schoolteacher, serving asprincipal at an elementary school inEast Chicago Heights until her retirement in 1980; when she retired, the school was renamed after her.[8] She died inChicago Heights, Illinois, on November 17, 1986.[2]
