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Mildred McDaniel: world record

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@ New Georgia Encyclopedia

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Video clip of Mildred McDaniel speaking about setting the world record for high jump in 1956. She begins by stating that officials at the Olympics asked her if she wanted to attempt to break the world record for high jump. She notes that the highest she had jumped that day was five feet four inches, and the record was slightly over five feet nine inches. She states that she asked them to raise the bar one notch over the record, although the officials wished her to work her way up in two-inch increments, which she declined. She describes missing the first jump and seeing a judge smile at this, which angered her. Finally, she states that she cleared the bar on the next jump, a success she attributes to the anger she felt upon seeing the judge smile at her first failure. McDaniel won an Olympic gold medal and set a world record in the high jump in 1956. She was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1983.
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New Georgia Encyclopedia

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Digital Library of Georgia