1. Nell C Jackson was an Olympic sprinter and track coach.
13 Facts About Nell Jackson
1. 2.
Nell Jackson served as the head coach in the 1972 Olympic Games.
3.
Nell Jackson was born in Athens, Georgia, to Burnette L Jackson and Wilhemina G Jackson, and was the only daughter of three children.
4.
In 1944, at the age of 15, Nell Jackson competed in the US national championships.
5.
Nell Jackson competed at the 1951 Pan-American Games, placing second in the 200 meters and first as a member of the US 400 meter relay team.
6.
Nell Jackson set the American record for 200 meters in August 1949, running 24.2 seconds.
7.
Nell Jackson was inducted into the US National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989, a year after she died in Vestal, New York.
8.
In 1953, Nell Jackson returned to Tuskegee to work as the women's track and field coach, later serving as the first men's swimming coach after creating the Tuskegee swimming program in 1958.
9.
Nell Jackson subsequently coached track and field at four universities: Iowa, Illinois State, Illinois, and Michigan State.
10.
Nell Jackson was the head coach of the 1970 national champion track team at the University of Illinois.
11.
In 1956, Nell Jackson was the first black head coach for a US Olympic track and field team.
12.
Nell Jackson served as the head coach of the women's team at the 1956 and 1972 Olympics.
13.
Nell Jackson coached 13 athletes to All-America honors at MSU.