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Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story
A timely memoir about world record–breaking Tyus’s 1964 and 1968 Olympic victories, amid the turbulence of the 1960s, along with contemporary reflections.
In 1968, Wyomia Tyus became the first person ever to win gold medals in the 100-meter sprint in two consecutive Olympic Games, a feat that would not be repeated for twenty years or exceeded for almost fifty. Tigerbelle chronicles Tyus’s journey from her childhood as the daughter of a tenant dairy farmer through her Olympic triumphs to her post-competition struggles to make a way for herself and other female athletes.
The Hidden Figures of sport, Tigerbelle helps to fill the gap currently occupying Black women’s place in American history, providing insight not only on what it takes to be a champion but also on what it means to stake out an identity in an often hostile world. Tyus’s exciting and uplifting story offers inspiration to readers from all walks of life.
With a foreword by MSNBC host Joy Reid, and an afterword by sportswriter Dave Zirin.
In 1968, Wyomia Tyus became the first person ever to win gold medals in the 100-meter sprint in two consecutive Olympic Games, a feat that would not be repeated for twenty years or exceeded for almost fifty. Tigerbelle chronicles Tyus’s journey from her childhood as the daughter of a tenant dairy farmer through her Olympic triumphs to her post-competition struggles to make a way for herself and other female athletes.
The Hidden Figures of sport, Tigerbelle helps to fill the gap currently occupying Black women’s place in American history, providing insight not only on what it takes to be a champion but also on what it means to stake out an identity in an often hostile world. Tyus’s exciting and uplifting story offers inspiration to readers from all walks of life.
With a foreword by MSNBC host Joy Reid, and an afterword by sportswriter Dave Zirin.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2018
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203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 30, 2018
Thank you Edelweiss+ for this advanced eGalley of “Tigerbelle”.
I grew up in Georgia. I actually LIVE in Georgia ...yet I’d NEVER heard of Wyomia Tyus until I picked up this book.
What a shame.
In a candid, and perhaps even bittersweet, telling of her life. Tyus makes two things clear, 1. She’s not bitter, and 2. She’s proud of what she’s accomplished.
Tyus was the first track athlete (male or female) to win back-to-back Olympic GOLD medals. Yet, it took several decades for her hometown to acknowledge the feat. No parades were held in her honor. No endorsements were given. No magazines placed her face on their cover.
She broke history and yet ...nothing. Nada.
“Tigerbelle” tells the story of the woman whose perseverance, and pain, powered her into the record books.
Tyus tells of her childhood in Griffin, Ga., as the youngest daughter of a sharecropper, the unexpected death of her father, the discovery of her talent by the legendary Ed Temple, and her Olympic accomplishments—particularly the record-setting win in 1968.
All of it told in a matter of fact way. Straight. No chaser.
Shy and content to remain anonymous, Tyus spoke of how often she picked her battles in favor of maintaining her anonymity. However, she also makes it clear how unfair she felt the world treated, and to some extent still treats, its female athletes.
She shares her thoughts on past and present issues in a conversational way. Like an old friend shooting the breeze ...but only because you asked.
“Tigerbelle” gives great insight into a legendary individual who’s never quite been allowed to shine the way she should have. And shame on us all for that.
I grew up in Georgia. I actually LIVE in Georgia ...yet I’d NEVER heard of Wyomia Tyus until I picked up this book.
What a shame.
In a candid, and perhaps even bittersweet, telling of her life. Tyus makes two things clear, 1. She’s not bitter, and 2. She’s proud of what she’s accomplished.
Tyus was the first track athlete (male or female) to win back-to-back Olympic GOLD medals. Yet, it took several decades for her hometown to acknowledge the feat. No parades were held in her honor. No endorsements were given. No magazines placed her face on their cover.
She broke history and yet ...nothing. Nada.
“Tigerbelle” tells the story of the woman whose perseverance, and pain, powered her into the record books.
Tyus tells of her childhood in Griffin, Ga., as the youngest daughter of a sharecropper, the unexpected death of her father, the discovery of her talent by the legendary Ed Temple, and her Olympic accomplishments—particularly the record-setting win in 1968.
All of it told in a matter of fact way. Straight. No chaser.
Shy and content to remain anonymous, Tyus spoke of how often she picked her battles in favor of maintaining her anonymity. However, she also makes it clear how unfair she felt the world treated, and to some extent still treats, its female athletes.
She shares her thoughts on past and present issues in a conversational way. Like an old friend shooting the breeze ...but only because you asked.
“Tigerbelle” gives great insight into a legendary individual who’s never quite been allowed to shine the way she should have. And shame on us all for that.
July 31, 2018
Wyomia Tyus was the first person to win the 100m at back-to-back Olympics, and yet I don’t remember ever hearing her name...probably because she was a black woman athlete in the 1960s.
In this explosive memoir, she talks about training as one of the famous Tigerbelles, and about running at the Olympics in a time where being a black woman athlete came with many hurdles to overcome. In Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story, she talks about both the struggles back then and the struggles now, picking out with careful precision some of the issues that face women athletes today—from being urged not to be too dominant in their sport to the lack of marketing preceding their events which serves as an excuse for why they are paid so much less than their peers. Tyus herself was a quiet figure with a lot of personality—she dances when she comes up to the start of her races. She talks too about her involvement with the group of athletes protesting the Olympics in 1968, and her experience in the audience when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in protest, and how she dedicated her gold medal from the relay to them.
Her life is one that we should know about, and her memoir adds to a long list of excellent memoirs by athletes who made history. It also adds to the list of women you should know about whose history has been partially erased by the white and male focus of the sports world. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story comes out September 4 from Akashic Books.
In this explosive memoir, she talks about training as one of the famous Tigerbelles, and about running at the Olympics in a time where being a black woman athlete came with many hurdles to overcome. In Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story, she talks about both the struggles back then and the struggles now, picking out with careful precision some of the issues that face women athletes today—from being urged not to be too dominant in their sport to the lack of marketing preceding their events which serves as an excuse for why they are paid so much less than their peers. Tyus herself was a quiet figure with a lot of personality—she dances when she comes up to the start of her races. She talks too about her involvement with the group of athletes protesting the Olympics in 1968, and her experience in the audience when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in protest, and how she dedicated her gold medal from the relay to them.
Her life is one that we should know about, and her memoir adds to a long list of excellent memoirs by athletes who made history. It also adds to the list of women you should know about whose history has been partially erased by the white and male focus of the sports world. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story comes out September 4 from Akashic Books.
December 23, 2018
Why don't we know more about her?
This takes you through her life journey and helps confirm or shape perspectives about women's equality over more than a half century. Sometimes we can be oblivious to the things going on around us;awareness is key. If you ignore people and behaviors that demean women, towing ever be addressed with The vigor it needs. The fact alone that her accomplishments were overlooked, buried even, are a.testament to her points of view. We need to acknowledge and praise our women and girls' voices.
This takes you through her life journey and helps confirm or shape perspectives about women's equality over more than a half century. Sometimes we can be oblivious to the things going on around us;awareness is key. If you ignore people and behaviors that demean women, towing ever be addressed with The vigor it needs. The fact alone that her accomplishments were overlooked, buried even, are a.testament to her points of view. We need to acknowledge and praise our women and girls' voices.
October 6, 2018
(Note: I received a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest online review.)
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 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.
January 16, 2019
Very enjoyable story about a stand-up person who succeeds in life through determination and perspective ... a person could learn a lot about life and sports and getting along from Ms. Tyus
Want to read
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Tại sao nên chọn Esports MCW66 để cá cược?
Giữa hàng loạt nền tảng cá cược trực tuyến hiện nay, Esports MCW66 nổi bật nhờ hệ thống cá cược chuyên nghiệp, tỷ lệ kèo hấp dẫn và cập nhật nhanh chóng các sự kiện lớn nhỏ trên toàn thế giới. Người chơi tại MCW66 có thể dễ dàng đặt cược vào các giải đấu từ khu vực đến quốc tế với nhiều hình thức kèo đa dạng như cược đội thắng, cược tổng số mạng, cược tài xỉu, cược theo thời gian thực...
>>>Xem thêm tại:
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Esports là gì và vì sao được yêu thích?
Esports (Electronic Sports) là hình thức thi đấu các trò chơi điện tử có tính đối kháng, cạnh tranh cao, được tổ chức bài bản như một môn thể thao chuyên nghiệp. Các tựa game phổ biến trong giới Esports hiện nay có thể kể đến như Liên Minh Huyền Thoại (LOL), Dota 2, CS:GO, PUBG, Valorant, Mobile Legends, FIFA Online và nhiều trò chơi khác.
Sức hút của Esports đến từ sự kịch tính trong từng trận đấu, trình độ kỹ thuật đỉnh cao của các tuyển thủ và cộng đồng người hâm mộ đông đảo trên toàn thế giới. Những giải đấu quốc tế lớn như The International (Dota 2), MSI và Worlds (LOL) hay PGL Major (CS:GO) thu hút hàng triệu lượt xem trực tuyến và có tổng giá trị giải thưởng lên đến hàng chục triệu USD.
Tại sao nên chọn Esports MCW66 để cá cược?
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January 13, 2019
This was the first time I had ever heard of Olympian Wyomia Tyus and how she was the first person to win gold medals in both the 1964 and 1968 Games for the 100-meter sprint event. (She also earned medals in the 4 X 100-meter relay events in 1964 and 1968.) Tyus is a Black American from the South and faced challenges and discrimination as she endeavored to become an Olympic athlete. She had an amazing coach, Edward Stanley Temple, who stood by her and the other Tigerbelles (from Tennessee State University) and instilled the value of hard work and perseverance in his charges. Besides telling her Olympic story, Tyus addresses such issues as inequality in women's sports as well as ongoing racial discrimination and how individuals can work to make changes in society.
April 8, 2019
Wyomia's words reflect not only her journey but her voice. She opened my eyes to the discrimination against women in sports then and now without ever using the word. An amazing hardworking humble clear spoken woman who won back to back Olympic golds in the 100 in 64 and 68 and I bet you have never heard/don't remember her, just like me. I will remember her now.
April 11, 2019
Enjoyed learning about Wyomia Tyus, her life, her accomplishments, her story, but kept asking 'why am I just now hearing about her?' Read this book and then do your own research to learn more about Tyus!
September 12, 2018
So fantastic! Inspiring and beautifully written! I can’t believe it took this long for Wyomia’s amazing story to be told! Bravo!!!
July 16, 2020
If you have any interest in sports, read this autobiography of one of the United States' greatest Olympic sprinters.
August 27, 2021
Glad I read it but quite repetitive
November 11, 2021
Historically significant- I am donating my copy to my high schooler’s library
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews