num_pages: 32
description: As this years Olympics draw near in Rio de Janeiro athletes from around the world are training hard to overcome the competition just as Alice Coachman did for the 1948 Olympics in London. This inspirational nonfiction book by Heather Lang is a story of perseverance and unwavering ambition that follows Coachman on her journey from rural Georgia where she overcame adversity both as a woman and as a black athlete to her triumph in Wembly Stadium. With her strong determination and innate athletic talent Alice raced her way to the top of the track and field world and leaping over all hurdles in her path went on to become the first African American woman to take home the gold medal. This amazing journey is complemented by Floyd Coopers pastel illustrations that serve to represent Coachmans incredible struggles.School Library Journal says: Lang brings her subjects early years to life through small details Coopers pastels keep to a brown grainy palette recalling the Georgia dirt on which the track star ran as a child.
language: English
title: Queen of the Track:  Alice Coachman Olympic High-Jump Champion
publisher: Boyds Mill Press