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| Born | February 18, 1958 (age 66) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Louise Dorothy Ritter (born February 18, 1958) is an American former track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1988 Olympic Games.
Biography
Ritter qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. She did, however, receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes. [1]
Ritter won the gold medal in the women's high jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. [2] In doing so she upset Stefka Kostadinova, the reigning world champion and world record-holder in the event.
A graduate from Red Oak High School, she now has a street named after her[ citation needed] in her former home town of Red Oak, Texas. [3]
She graduated from Texas Woman's University in 1988 where she starred for U.S. Olympic coach Dr. Bert Lyle.
Ritter was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2012, [4]and the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.
Achievements
- 4 Times US National Champion (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986)
- 3 Times won US Olympic Trials (1980, 1984, 1988)
Note: During the 1980s, the US Championships and US Olympic trials were separate events.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing 
United States
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| 1977 | World Cup | Düsseldorf, Germany | 4th | 1.83 m | |
| 1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | 1.93 m | |
| World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 5th | 1.87 m | ||
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 1.95 m | |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 8th | 1.91 m | |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 8th | 1.89 m | |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 8th | 1.93 m | |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | 2.03 m | |
References
- ^ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Louise Ritter". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
- ^ THE SEOUL OLYMPICS; Last Jump Goes Ritter's Way
- ^ "Txtfhalloffame". Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ "Introducing the Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2024". March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
External links
- Louise Ritter at databaseOlympics.com (archived)
- Louise Ritter at Olympedia
- Louise Ritter at Olympics.com
- Louise Ritter at World Athletics
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USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame | ||
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| Class of 2022 |
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| Class of 2023 | ||
| Class of 2024 | ||
 | This biographical article about an American high jumper is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1958 births
- Living people
- American female high jumpers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games
- Congressional Gold Medal recipients
- Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
- Track and field athletes from Dallas
- Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field coaches
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
- Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games
- 21st-century American women
- American high jumper stubs