Elizabeth R. Schwartz (née Robinson; August 23, 1911 – May 18, 1999) was an American athlete and winner of the first Olympic 100 metres for women.

Early life

Robinson was born in

Riverdale, Illinois Riverdale is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,663 at the 2020 census. The village shares its name with the bordering Riverdale, Chicago, Riverdale neighborhood in Chicago. History The Village of Riverdal ...

. She was a student at Thornton Township High School when she achieved national acclaim as an Olympic champion. Her talent was discovered by her science teacher Charles Price, who saw her running to catch the train after school. He was a former athlete and the coach of the school team.

Athletics

Robinson ran her first official race on March 30, 1928, at the age of 16, at an indoor meet where she finished second to Helen Filkey, the US record holder at 100 m, in the 60-yard dash. At her next race on June 2, outdoors at 100 meters, she beat Filkey and equalled the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

, though her time was not recognized because it was deemed wind-aided. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, her third 100 m competition, Robinson was the only US athlete to qualify for the 100 m final. She reached the final and won, equaling the world record of 12.2 seconds. She was the inaugural Olympic champion in the event, since athletics for women had not been on the program before, and its inclusion was in fact still heavily disputed among officials. She remains the youngest athlete to win Olympic 100 m gold. With the American 4 x 100 metres relay team, Robinson added a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

to her record. Six decades later, Robinson was interviewed for a book, ''Tales of Glory: An Oral History of the Summer Olympic Games Told By America's Gold Medal Winners'', by Lewis H. Carlson and John J Fogarty. This is how she remembered the 100 m race: ''Chicago Tribune'' reporter William L Shirer wrote that 'an unheralded, pretty, blue-eyed blond young woman from Chicago became the darling of the spectators when she flew down the cinder path, her golden locks flying, to win'. She joined

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

where she decided to pursue a physical education degree, hoping to become a coach at the 1936 Olympics. Robinson joined the rifle team at Northwestern in addition to running track there. She was also a member of

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than ...

. On 28 June 1931, Robinson was involved in a plane crash and was severely injured. Initial reports had her being discovered unconscious in the wreckage and wrongly thought dead by her rescuer; in fact, he merely thought she was beyond saving. He took her to Oak Forest infirmary, locally known as the "Poor Farm", because he knew the undertaker. Doctors determined she had suffered severe multiple injuries and she would never race again. It was another six months before she could get out of a wheelchair, and two years before she could walk normally again. Meanwhile, she missed the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

in her home country. Still unable to kneel for a normal 100 m start due to the fractures and surgeries on her left leg, Robinson was a part of the US team of 4 × 100 metres relay at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. The US team was running behind the heavily favored Germans, but the Germans dropped their baton. Robinson took the lead and handed off the baton to Helen Stephens, resulting in her second Olympic gold medal.

After athletic career

Retiring after the Berlin Olympics, Robinson remained involved in athletics as an official. She worked in a hardware store for many years. In 1977, she was inducted into the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame. In 1996, she carried the Olympic Torch for the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Personal life

She married and had two children. The family resided in Glencoe, Illinois, a suburb on

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's North Shore. She died at age 87, suffering from cancer and

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References

External links