Wyomia TyusRezensionen

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wyomia Tyus' name probably won't come quickly to minds of most people as being among our all-time outstanding athletes, her achievements having been so long ago. Hopefully, the book she wrote causes more people to give her some well-deserved recognition. Back in the 1960's Tyus became a huge sensation. Among her three Olympic gold medals for the United States were two she received for winning the 100-meter race. That was in 1964 in Tokyo and again in 1968 in Mexico City. There had been no other athlete who won the 100 meter more than once. Her fame was like a fairy tale. When she was a young girl there would have been little reason to suppose she would ever become widely known to anyone outside of her small town of Griffin, Georgia.

Her racing career is only one of the fascinating topics of this book. Black legendary coach Ed Temple is obviously revered by Tyus. He encouraged her along as she joined the historically black Tennessee State University Tigerbelles track team in Nashville. He instinctively spotted good reason to nurture her great running talent. He made her work for her accomplishments. When she was in Tokyo for the Olympics, he noticed she had put on some pounds. Mr. Temple, as she still respectfully calls him, made her run hard to get back into shape. She remembers that making her stronger. This book comes just a couple of years after Temple's passing. Tyus still adores this man. It shows throughout the book.

There is an abundance of fascinating stories about the Tigerbelles, the accomplishments of Wilma Randolph among them. She was an Olympic-winning athlete not long before Tyus came along. It was a miracle that Randolph survived childhood, given her precarious bouts with scarlet fever, pneumonia and polio. If there ever was a testament to the fact that perseverance pays off, hers is it.

Elizabeth Terzakis co-authored Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story.

"Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story" is inspirational! Who knew what we sports enthusiasts were missing--from this period, from this gender, from our beloved sport of track and field. Kudos to finally telling this story--one rich in historical facts and that engenders recognition in bias and racial prejudices that continues to this day--even transcending sports as it peeks into simple name confusion--between Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, dynamic gymnast duo--both tops and living legends in their sport. I mean could you confuse basketball players, male basketball players, white gymnasts--in print and be "ok?"

Usually, its defined as the woman behind the man who is due notice for the unwavering support of the superstar. Here, we are introduced the superb leader of the Tennessee State University's Tigerbelles, Mr. Temple and what is most deserving of applause--not that he raised ace track stars of olympic gold caliber but that he groomed them to be the best people, women, and not just competitors. "Being top on the list speed-wise wasn't enough for Mr. Temple; if you weren't respected, you would never be captain."

Growing up in Jim Crow south, a "black" woman would mean that being a leader in any way would be difficult, and possibly down-right treacherous. But the delightful, matter-of-fact manner in which Elizabeth Terzakis aids Wyomia Tyus in story-telling is rather light: It's a quick sprint to the finish line of her story infused with exactly the right actions one should make in life to overcome any preconceived notions of ability--gender or ethnic identity. Considerate, giving, passionate and practical--her general nature can be summed up in just this one (of my favorite) quotes in her life-quenching story: "Time never broke a tape." Nope--but she did, twice as the Olympic gold medal winner in the 100-meters, and it was a great amount of time (20 years!) before someone matched that monumental milestone.

It is incredibly powerful to her Tyus' story in her own words, both to gain a better understanding of the obstacles faced by black women in the sixties (and that black women are still facing today), and to understand what a powerful difference the opportunity to be involved with a sport can make for young women.