Edna Roxanne Andersen (née Atkins, June 26, 1912 – September 6, 2002) was a Canadian and 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 ...

athlete. She won a gold medal at the

1934 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 1934 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were organized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and served as the national championships in indoor track and field for the United States. The men's edition was held at Madison Square Garden in ...

and a silver medal at the 1936 US Indoor Championships. Apart from competing in athletics, Andersen was the Pacific chair of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

from 1950 to 1976. In 1991, Andersen was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Personal life

On June 26, 1912, Andersen was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Andersen died in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on September 6, 2002. Andersen was married with no children.

Career

Andersen began her athletic career with the Canadian Ladies Athletic Club. She broke the Canadian record in the

80 metres hurdles 80 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling run by women until 1972 in international competitions. Since the 1972 Summer Olympics, the event has been permanently replaced by the 100 metre hurdles. Masters athletics The distance, with different sp ...

event in 1932 and won gold in the Canadian hurdles championship in 1935. Additional records that Andersen held were in the

50 metres hurdles 50 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling, usually only run in indoor competitions. Because very few contests are held over the distance, most of the fastest times recorded for the event were set during specially measured and timed races over lo ...

and 90 yards hurdles events. Competing in the United States, Andersen won gold at the 1934

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 ...

and silver at the 1936 USA Indoor Championships. In international competitions, she participated in the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

, the

1934 Women's World Games The 1934 Women's World Games () were the fourth edition of the international games for women. The tournament was held between 9–11 August at the White City Stadium in London, United Kingdom.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 ...

. After World War II, Andersen went to

with her husband and became an American citizen. She served as the Pacific district chair of the

from 1950 to 1976. With the

United States national track and field team The United States national Olympic track and field team represents the United States in international athletics competitions such as the Olympic Games or the World Athletics Championships. Medal tables The United States have 29 participations i ...

, she worked with the team at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

1971 Pan American Games The 1971 Pan American Games, officially known as the VI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Cali 1971, were held in Cali, Colombia, from 30 July to 13 August 1971. (One source dates the Games from July 25 to August 8.) A total of 2,935 ...

and

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

Awards and honors

Andersen was inducted into the USA

in 1991.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Roxy 1912 births 2002 deaths Canadian female hurdlers Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Anglophone Quebec people Track and field athletes from Montreal Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Canadian sportswomen