Mabel Landry
American long jumper and sprinter
Mabel Marie "Dolly" Staton (née: Landry) (born November 20, 1932) is a retired American track and field athlete, specializing in long jump and sprints. She represented the United States at the 1952 Olympics.[1]
Career
During the preliminary round in 152, she set the Olympic record in the long jump at 5.88 m (19 ft 3+1⁄4 in), which only lasted temporarily as Yvette Williams demolished her record with 6.16 m (20 ft 2+1⁄2 in) later in the same round. Landry finished seventh in the final, only managing one legal jump.
She also was part of the American team at the 1955 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in the 60 meters and a gold medal in the 4×100 meters relay anchoring a team with Isabelle Daniels, Mae Faggs, and Barbara Jones. She was a four time United States champion in the long jump.[2] She also won two outdoor titles in the now defunct 50 meter dash.[3] Indoors, she won the national title in the 60 yard dash twice,[4] but did not have the opportunity to duplicate her wins in the outdoor long jump because in the 1950s, women only competed in the standing long jump.[5]
Through her career she competed for the Chicago CYO as their only member initially. Her notoriety encouraged the all-white Hurricanes to want to join her, creating one of the first integrated track teams. She attended DePaul University on an academic scholarship before spending a career as a teacher.[1] At age 16, on her way to the 1949 National Championships in Odessa, Texas, her coach purchased a sleeping compartment for the star athlete to rest. At 6 a.m. she was awakened by the engineer ""Get out. We just crossed the Mason–Dixon line. You have to get up front with the other coloreds." The incident led to a successful civil rights lawsuit by the CYO against the Illinois Central Railroad.[6]
Post-career
In 2008, she was presented with the DePaul University letterman's jacket. She never competed for her alma mater because at the time they did not have a track team for women, a common situation in that era.[6] She was selected into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Mabel Landry Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 1932-11-20. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "USA Track & Field - USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions". Usatf.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "USA Track & Field - USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions". Usatf.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "USA Track & Field - USA Indoor Track & Field Champions". Usatf.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "USA Track & Field - USA Indoor Track & Field Champions". Usatf.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ a b Melissa Isaacson (2008-05-15). "Finally on right track". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "Chicagoland Sports Hall of Famers". Chicagolandsportshalloffame.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
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USA Championship winners in women's 50-meter dash
- 1923: Marion McCartie
- 1924: Christine Pylick
- 1925–28: Elta Cartwright
- 1929: Betty Robinson
- 1930: Mary Carew
- 1931: Alice Monk
- 1932: Dorothy Nussbaum
- 1933: Louise Stokes
- 1934: Not held
- 1935: Louise Stokes
- 1936: Ivy Wilson
- 1937–38: Claire Isicson
- 1939: Gertrude Johnson
- 1940: Jean Lane
- 1941: Lucy Newell
- 1942: Jeanette Jones
- 1943–47: Alice Coachman
- 1948: Mabel Walker
- 1949: Juanita Watson
- 1950: Dolores Dwyer
- 1951: Mary McNabb
- 1952: Catherine Hardy Lavender
- 1953–54: Mabel Landry
- 1955–56: Isabelle Daniels
- 1957–58: Barbara Jones
- 1959: Isabelle Daniels
- The event was over 50 yards from 1923–32 and also 1955, 1957 and 1958. The 1959 distance was 60 meters.
