Wyomia Tyus

What a delight! I'm so glad to have read Wyomia Tyus's memoir.

Tyus and her co-author, Elizabeth Terzakis, have created a book that links our current moment backwards through the mid-20th century, though the vehicle of Tyus's life, written in a conversational tone that brings out her individuality. It's an excellent addition to Dave Zirin's Edge of Sports series.

Sometimes I need a reminder of how far we come -- though those reminders are perhaos equally likely to make med that we were ever there in the first place, or that we've only gotten so far and still have so much more to go. Tyus lays out the structural problems that women and girls, especially Black and other women and girls of color, face in the sports at every level. In 1960 there were difficulties with the Olympic team's uniforms;in '64 they had sub-par training facilities, separate and unequal from the men. In 2016 the Williams sisters, both decorated multi-medalists, were conveniently forgotten when a commentator was lauding a male medalist as ground-breaking. Tyus tells us of the lectures she had to give her children about staying alive in racist society, citing the too-similar ones she herself had to from her own parents; Colin Kaepernick's knee looks a lot like Tommie Smith and John Carlos's fists.

And yet...we have gotten somewhere. At the end of the book, she talks about movement to pay athletes living wages, including college football players, something nearly unthinkable while she was competing. TItle IX has now been providing opportunity for two or three generations of women and girls.

My own amateur athletic career(s) has certainly been made possible by it -- I've been a junior high school football player, a scholastic & collegiate rower, and a track cyclist just about to teeter over into the masters age category. Much of my own life has felt like what Wyomia Tyus has written about hers. I, too, just kind of did whatever I wanted, perhaps got less pushback and a little more encouragement from my parents than many girls, didn't give half a damn when it was suggested I couldn't or shouldn't do something, and got a few lucky breaks. But that even with Title IX and other protections in place, I still needed all those things to align shows us that we aren't there yet. Tyus closes by saying that she plans to live to at least 100, and so -- perhaps -- if we all work very hard for the next 30 years, maybe we can see it in her lifetime. I also plan to live to at least 100, so maybe in mine if not in hers.… (mehr)

Enjoyed the read, it was conversational and easy to read. The personal nature of the narrative was powerful and added a depth of meaning to the life story. I have been aware of the Tigerbelle's story for many years although I was not familiar with of the individuals who were part of that organization over the years. This increased my admiration for what the individual athletes and the Tennessee State program endured. I was really appreciative of the chapter on Edward Temple's legacy. He was a heroic figure for the Tigerbelles organization and I am sure individually in the lives of many of the women who participated in that program over the years.… (mehr)

Wyoma Tyus was a member of the Tigerbelles, the team that was a dominate force in college and a runner/athlete who won 4 olympic medals. Her story has been unnecesarily sidelined by history, but this was a fascinating uncovering. A valuable, vibrant story of one of the leading US women, I hope to see this in libraries and bookstores across the nation upon it's publication.

I enjoyed the discussions of her coach, societal expectations of women, and how things have changed (and not changed). I highly recommend this, as everything discussed is still relevant.… (mehr)

Wyomia Tyus was a member of the Tennessee State women's track and filed team, the Tigerbelles. The Tigerbelles were a dominate force in college and Olympic track and field beginning in the 1950s. This is her story of how she began as a daughter of a poor sharecropper in the segregated south, was able to attend college through a work-study scholarship, and won two individual Olympic gold medals in the 100 meter sprint, and a gold and silver in the 4x100-meter relay.

The chapter on the 1968 Mexico City Olympics is one of the most fascinating. The '68 Olympics are noted for the important, controversial protests by Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the awards podium after wins in the men's 200 meter sprint. Although Ms. Tyus thought of herself - and other women athletes - as being relegated to the side-lines of these historic events, she actually provides the reader with a front row seat. After describing the intense social events in the Olympic Village at that time, the chapter becomes more personal as she recounts her thoughts at the starting blocks and during the 11-second long sprint to her second Olympic medal. She became the first person to win the Olympic 100 meter sprint twice in a row. She and the other women sprinters dedicated their medals to the social protests of Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

Her life after college and the Olympics might surprise younger readers who are accustomed to seeing athletes make enormous profits from their athletic achievements. She worked with Billie Jean King to encourage to the development of women's athletics. Her comments on the current state of racism in America are especially relevant, given that racism now seems to be enjoying greater tolerance by powerful elected officials.

This is an excellent book which I would recommend to anyone.… (mehr)