Billie Jo Patricia "Pat" Daniels (in first marriage Winslow, in second marriage Bank, in third marriage Connolly; born September 1, 1943) is a retired female

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

and track and field coach from the United States, who was the U.S. track and field national champion in the 800 m in 1960 and 1961 and in the pentathlon from 1961 to 1967 and in 1970. She was national long jump champion in 1967. She won the gold medal in the pentathlon at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada. A three-time Olympian (1960, 1964, 1968), she placed seventh in 1964 and sixth in 1968. She first represented the US in 1960, running just five days after her 17th birthday, days before beginning her senior year at

Capuchino High School Capuchino High School is a public high school in San Bruno, California, United States. It is one of seven high schools in the San Mateo Union High School District, a division of the San Mateo County Office of Education. History The physical c ...

San Bruno, California San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco, California, South San Francisco and Millbrae, Cali ...

. She was the first coach of the women's track and field team at the

University of California Los Angeles 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 Cal ...

, which she led to

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

national championships in 1975 and 1977. In 1983, she coached UCLA alumna

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 ...

to a world record in the women's 100 m, set in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

. In 1984, she coached Ashford to gold medals in the women's

100 m 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 ...

and

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in Los Angeles and later that year to a new world record in the 100 m of 10.76 seconds, set in Zurich. She became head men's and women's track and field coach at

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia, United States. It is one of the state's eight doctorate-granting public universities. Founded in 1910, Radford offers curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, graduate ...

in 1998 and was named

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

Coach of the Year in 2001 before retiring the following year. In 2004, she came out of retirement to coach

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 meter ...

to a silver medal and world junior record in the women's 200 m at the

in Athens. In 1989, she testified before a Senate hearing on steroid abuse chaired by Senator

Joseph Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. She has published numerous articles in publications, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', on the subject of performance-enhancing drugs. She is author of ''Coaching Evelyn: Fast, Faster, Fastest Woman in the World''. She was married to American hammer thrower and Olympian

Hal Connolly Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly (August 1, 1931 – August 18, 2010) was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Connolly became the f ...

until his death in 2010. In 2010, she was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame. Also, starting in 2010, she began coaching for

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school, independent, day school, day, college preparatory school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. She helped coach the Greyhounds to championships in the MIAA for both indoor and outdoor track and field.

References

External links

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USATF Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Pat 1943 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California Track and field athletes from California Sports coaches from California American track and field coaches Female sports coaches American female long jumpers American pentathletes American female middle-distance runners Olympic female pentathletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Radford Highlanders coaches UCLA Bruins track and field coaches Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportswomen Radford Highlanders track and field