Mamie Rallins, the first Black woman to hold a head coaching job at Ohio State University, where she also served as assistant athletics director, died on May 16 as a result of injuries she suffered in an automobile accident in Fremont, Ohio. She was 74 years old.
Rallins competed for the United States in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. In 1976, she graduated from Tennessee State University in Nashville at the age of 34.
Rallins served as head coach of the women’s track and field and cross country teams at Ohio State for 18 years. She was the head coach of the women’s track and field team for the 1987 World Championships and an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team for the 1996 games in Atlanta.
