Jeanette Bolden (born January 26, 1960) is an American Olympic

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who formerly competed in the 100 metres. She was the head coach of the track and field team at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

. She is the co-owner of the 27th Street Bakery in Los Angeles, which is best known for the sweet potato, pecan and sweet potato pecan pies.

World class sprinter

She competed for the United States in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in the 4 × 100 metres where she won the gold medal with her teammates 100 metre silver medalist Alice Brown, Chandra Cheeseborough and Olympic 100m champion

Evelyn Ashford Evelyn Ashford (born April 15, 1957) is an American retired track and field athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash, and the world record-holder in the 60-yard dash. She ran under the 11-second barrier over 30 times and was t ...

. She also placed 4th in the

100 metres 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 ...

in a time of 11.25 seconds. Bolden has suffered from

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

throughout her life. Her athletic career came to a sudden end at the 1988 Olympic Trials when she ruptured her

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

just moments after teammate

Florence Griffith Joyner Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded. She was married to Al Joyner, a 198 ...

set the still standing World Record in the 100 metres. It was one of the most heartbreaking memories for her coach

Bob Kersee Bob Kersee is an American athletics coach. Initially intending to become an NFL coach, Kersee instead became a track and field coach at the suggestion of his sisters. His training group is known as Formula Kersee. Early life Kersee was born ...

. Bolden attended college at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

and later transferred to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

where she graduated in 1983.

Assistant coach

Unable to run with the same intensity as before, she applied her efforts to coaching, initially as an assistant coach at

under Kersee. Between 1994 and 2012, Coach Bolden developed over 50

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-Americans in the sprints, hurdles and relays.

Head coach

Bolden was the head track and field coach for UCF after a successful tenure with

's women's program. She retired at the end 2017. In 2008, she served as the United States Olympic women's head coach.http://www.legacy.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2008_07_14_09_52_13 USATF Press Release

Honors

Bolden was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2022 class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolden, Jeanette 1960 births Living people Sports coaches from Los Angeles Track and field athletes from Los Angeles American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics UCLA Bruins track and field coaches UCLA Bruins women's track and field athletes UCF Knights track and field coaches Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Olympic female sprinters 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) Cal State Northridge Matadors women's track and field athletes