Iris LaVerne Davis-Hicks (April 30, 1950 – September 18, 2021)Iris Davis' obituary
/ref> was an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter who specialized in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. She was the 1971

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

champion in that event and also won a gold medal in the

4 × 100-meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

. She represented the United States at the

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

and twice narrowly missed out on a medal: first in the 100 m, placing fourth behind Cuba's

Silvia Chivás Silvia Chivás Baró (born September 10, 1954) is a former track and field athlete from Cuba. At the age of 17 she won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1971 Pan Am Games in Cali. During the same Games, she and her teammates would take ...

, then in the relay, where Chivás again outsprinted her to bronze on the final leg.Iris Davis
. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2016-02-14. Davis was born in an African-American family in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part ...

. Nationally she was a four-time champion: twice in the 100 m (1971, 1973) and twice in the

60-meter dash 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

(1972, 1973). She was runner-up in the

100-yard dash The 100-yard dash is a track and field sprint event of . It was part of the Commonwealth Games until 1970, and was included in the triathlon of the Olympics in 1904. It is not generally used in international events, replaced by the 100- ...

in 1969 and 1970, and also had top three placings in the 100 m at the 1972 Olympic trials and the 1972 outdoor championships. She was a member of the Tigerbelles collegiate team for

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

, which had a strong history of women's sprinting including double Olympic champion

Wyomia Tyus 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 Frase ...

.Tigerbelles to host 2nd Annual Homecoming Reunion, Announces 2009-10 Schedule
. TSUTigers (2009-11-06). Retrieved on 2016-02-14.

International competitions

National titles

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

**100 m: 1971, 1973 *

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships i ...

**60 m: 1972, 1973

References

__NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Iris 1950 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Pompano Beach, Florida Track and field athletes from Florida American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Tennessee State Lady Tigers track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen

International competitions

National titles

See also

References