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Wyomia Tyus (pronunciation: why-o-mi; born August 29, 1945) is a retired American track and field sprinter, and the first person to retain the Olympic title in the 100 m (a feat since duplicated by Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, and Elaine Thompson-Herah).
Early life
Raised on a dairy farm, as the youngest of four children, and the only girl in the family Tyus was encouraged by her father to participate in sports. While a high school athlete Tyus participated in basketball and began her track endeavors as a high jumper before transitioning to the sprints after being invited to a summer track clinic at Tennessee State University in 1960. It was in this same year that Tyus's father died leaving the job of male role model in Tyus's life to her soon to be track coach at Tennessee State Ed Temple. Tyus also qualified for the 200 m final, in which she finished sixth. Running the final leg for the relay team, Tyus helped setting a new world record, winning her third gold medal. In 1976, Tyus was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. In 1980, Tyus was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, she was one of eleven athletes who carried in the Olympic Flag during the Opening Ceremony. In 1985, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
In 1999, her hometown of Griffin, Georgia honored her with the unveiling of the Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park. The 2010 Breeder's World Cup featured a two-year-old filly racing horse bearing her namesake. In 2018, she published the memoir Tigerbelle : the Wyomia Tyus story, with co-author Elizabeth Terzakis; it is part of Dave Zirin's Edge of Sports series.
Personal life
Tyus grew up in a primarily white neighborhood and became aware of her race and of racial segregation at an early age. She was forced to take an hour bus ride to school each day, in spite of the fact that there was a white school within walking distance. Tyus began training with TSU coach Ed Temple, but poor grades, study habits, and a general lack of interest in classes nearly derailed Tyus's chances to continue her training and attend the 1964 Olympics.