Harriet Bland
 Bland at the 1936 Olympics | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 13, 1915 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Died | November 6, 1991 (aged 76) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis | |||||||||||
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | Sprint | |||||||||||
| Club | St. Louis Athletic Club | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best | 100 m – 12.2 (1932)[1][2] | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Harriet Claiborne Bland (February 13, 1915 – November 6, 1991), later Harriet Bland Green, was an American sprinter from St. Louis, Missouri.
Early life
Bland was born in St. Louis, the daughter of Isabelle Heard Bland. She attended Mary Institute, a private day school.[3]
Sports career
Bland nearly qualified for the 1932 Summer Olympics team in 1932,[3] and protested the decision to exclude her. She qualified for the 1936 team, but was told that there was no money to send her to Berlin.[4] After a fundraising campaign by the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, to cover her travel expenses,[5][6] and losing her track shoes and handbag in New York before sailing for Berlin,[7] she competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, under track coach Dee Boeckmann, in the individual 100m and 4 × 100 m relay. She won a gold medal in the relay, with Betty Robinson, Annette Rogers, and Helen Stephens.[1]
Bland was honored upon her return, alongside other American Olympians, at a parade in New York City.[8] She served on the Ozark A. A. U. Women's Track and Field Committee, and coached a track program for girls in St. Louis, after her Olympic win.[4][9] She was head finish judge at an invitational relay for women in Edwardsville, Illinois in 1965.[10] she later earned a bachelor's degree in interior design at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.[11]
Later life
Harriet Bland married professional golfer William W. Green in 1939.[12] They had a son, William C. Green, who subsequently had five sons, including Marshall Heard Bland Green of Wellsville, New York. She survived a stroke in 1974 and used a wheelchair after that. She was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.[4] She died from a heart attack at her son's home in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1991, aged 76 years.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Harriet Bland Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ Harriet Bland. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ a b Scott, John G. (March 23, 1932). "17-Year-Old Girl Suddenly Looms as St. Louis Olympic Hope at Sprint Distances". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 16. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Becht, June Wuest (May 10, 1983). "'Golden Girls' of 1936 Made Olympic History". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 33. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Paper to Sponsor Campaign to Send Girl to Olympics". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. July 9, 1936. p. 7. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Only $40.50 Needed to Attain $500 Goal for Trip to Europe". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. July 10, 1936. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harriet Bland Loses Handbag at Sailing Time". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 15, 1936. p. 17. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harriet Bland to be Honored in New York". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. September 3, 1936. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harriet Bland Again to Coach Track Team". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. November 11, 1938. p. 17. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2 Former Olympians to Officiate Relays". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. June 23, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Harriet Green; Won Olympic Gold in '36". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 10, 1991. p. 67. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harriet Bland Weds William W. Green". The St. Louis Star and Times. May 9, 1939. p. 18. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
