How many people who follow sport know the name Wyomia Tyus?
It is a name that sports fans, and especially those who love the Olympic Games should all know.
For Wyomia Tyus was the first athlete male or female to win the Olympic 100m Gold medal back-to-back. She claimed her first gold in 1964 in Tokyo, and her second in Mexico in 1968.
You would have thought that such an achievement would have been headline news. That wasn’t the case.
This is one heck of an acheivement and only a very select band of athletes have matched this feat, Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, and Elaine Thompson-Herah. Tyus was the first. She set the standard.
There have been many theories as to why she did not receive at the time the recognition her achievement deserved. One that cannot be denied is that in the 1960’s the world was still coming to terms with women competing in such events. So being a woman meant that she was never going to attract the same headlines as her male counterparts. Then there was the fact that she was a Black woman.
In her home country the USA the civil rights movement was possibly at its peak in 1967/68 so being black may well have played a part in her not receiving due recognition.
There are some who have said that the reason that she did not receive that recognition was because her record was upstaged by the protests of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium following their victory and bronze medal in the 200m. Their raised gloved fists sending shockwaves through the International Olympic Committee.
Yet this carries very little weight as Tyus won her Gold medal in the 100m Women’s final on October 15th and Tommie Smith and John Carlos won their medals on October 16th. The final of their event starting at 1750.
What is also forgotten is that Tyus after winning the women’s 100m relay along with Margaret Bailes, Barbara Ferrell, and Mildrette Netter on October 20th dedicated her second gold medal of the Games to Smith and Carlos, and the stance they took for the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Not only that, but she made her own statement by wearing black shorts instead of the USA’s traditional white.
Was this again because they were women and not taken seriously?
It is interesting to note that the the Olympic Project for Human Rights overlooked asking the female athletes for input on their agenda and goals. As Tyus stated in her autobiography “It was just a sign of the times, where we were as people, not just black people, but the world; women were expected to follow, to do what the men said.”
Three of the 12 track and field gold medals up for grabs in Mexico were won by black American women. So had they been more involved they could well have had an impact.
The idea behind the movement was about everyone, everywhere struggling for Human Rights, but by not consulting with the women athletes they lost out.
Looking back on those times Tyus made a revealing observation in her book, where her husband, who was involved in the movement was convinced that if everyone banded together everything would work out for the best. An approach that still exists in many areas of life and sport today.
In a world where people choose not to enter into dialogue, and communicate electronically there is automatically a disconnect. Society today is far more selfish than that of fifty years ago. There is also far less accountability.
However, Wyomia Tyus made an observation of that time which is as valid today as it was then. Her view was that just bandying together would not work. She stated “You have to include people. You have to include them actively. No one asked my opinion. No one asked me, “how do you feel about these things?” And I had feelings, feelings and thoughts for sure and if I had the opportunity in the run-up to the Olympics I would have shared them.”
How mush did the Olympic Project for Human Rights miss out at that time by not including the women, by not seeking out other opinions from other people in similar situations?
How mush does that happen still today? Even with all the talk of Inclusivity? How small is that circle of consultation, and is it kept small to give that small group the outcomes that they want?
Everybody wants to be wanted. Everybody wants to feel valued. Often the greatest observations come from those you least expect. In manufacturing frequently those on the work floor doing the same task every day are the ones who see a way of saving the company thousands of dollars, not the managers in their offices.
As long as everyone shares the same goal, surely the more perspectives and ideas you share the more likely you are to achieve better outcomes?
Anyone who has been a part of a team will tell you that it takes all different kinds of people in a variety of roles to make a team successful. So it is equally important that people seek out opinions, thoughts, and ideas from as many people as possible before deciding on certain outcomes that are deemed to be the best for all concerned.
Wyomia Tyus was not asked her opinion, her world first was overlooked by most of the world’s media, as was her support for Tommie Smith and John Carlos, but she learned some important lessons.
She learned at that time that her country was happy to claim her victories, “because they want to claim all that is good. So if I’m winning, of course they’re claiming it. It’s all about counting medals; it always has been and I think it always will be.”
As she also wrote “At a certain point, your country has to give you a reason to feel proud, has to recognise your accomplishments -not to mention your humanity.” Many countries are still failing to recognise this. The USA is one, why else did athletes start taking the knee? Their values were not aligned to those being projected by their nation.
After her athletics career ended Wyomia Tyus joined up with Billie Jean King and other Olympic athletes to form the Women’s Sports Foundation. Which was set up in the early 1970’s as an educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. In those early years, as Tyus had experienced first hand, the Foundation wanted to educate with respect the idea of women in sports, and the ongoing discrimination against women in sports. The WSF also wanted to normalize the female athlete’s capabilities and achievements on the same playing field as men.
Having not been recognised for her Olympic first, or having been asked to contribute to a movement that was just as relevant to black women as black men, Wyomia Tyus has made sure that in her life she will try and address those issues and ensure that others are not overlooked.
Her’s is a name that should be remembered, not just for her personal achievements, but also for the wisdom she has shared from the lessons life has taught her.
