Sharon Dabney (born January 1959) is a retired American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete.

Career

She was the 1979 Pan American Games Champion at

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

in a

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

over

June Griffith June Marcia Griffith (''married'' Collison) (born June 16, 1957) is a retired Guyanese track and field athlete. She participated in both sprint and jumping events. She represented Guyana in the 400 meters at the 1984 Olympics, making it to the s ...

. She also was part of the United States gold medal-winning

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

team. Four years earlier, she was part of the silver medal-winning team as a 16 year old. She was sixth place in the United States Olympic Trials in 1976. Her 51.55 in 1977 while still at

John Bartram High School John Bartram High School is a public secondary school serving neighborhoods of the Southwest Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. History O ...

in Philadelphia was the second fastest 400 at the time, soon to be engulfed by the Howard sisters. At the time, before

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educa ...

took effect, the high school had no athletic program for girls. She was the 1977 National Champion. At the 1980 Olympic Trials, she finished 4th behind

Sherri Howard Sherri Frances Howard (born June 1, 1962) is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard. She competed in the 1980 Olympic trials in the 400m at the age of 16 ...

, Gwen Gardner and Denean Howard which should have put her on a likely medal winning relay team for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. However that glory was not to be as for many athletes of her era she was left out of the Olympic by the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, a ...

. She did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, she was unable to get out of the quarter-finals against Chandra Cheeseborough and Diane Dixon. While studying at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

, she joined the three Howard sisters in setting the long-standing school record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dabney, Sharon Living people 1959 births Track and field athletes from Philadelphia American female sprinters California State University, Los Angeles alumni Congressional Gold Medal recipients Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 21st-century American women Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States