 Chandra Cheeseborough was the first female to win gold medals as a member of both sprint relay teams (4 x 100 meters and 4 x 400 meters) in the same Olympics-the Los Angeles games in1984. She also claimed a silver for the 400-meter dash that same year. The three-time Olympian (1976, 1980 and 1984) has been named to the Florida Track Hall of Fame. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Cheeseborough attended the summer track program at TSU when she was in high school. At age 16 she emerged a star by winning a gold medal in the 200-meter dash in record-setting time at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City. In 1976, she finished sixth in the100-meter dash at the Olympics in Montreal. That feat qualified her for two events (100- and 200-meter sprints) on the 1980 team, which boycotted the games. A standout athlete in the '70s and '80s, Cheeseborough now coaches the Tennessee State University women's track team, the
Tigerbelles, carrying the torch of her predecessor, Ed Temple. |