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Profile - Jean Coleman
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Jean Coleman won
the invitation junior 100y at the National Championships in 1936
setting a new meet record. She was a protoge of Mrs Doris Magee who
also steered Coleman towards the quarter mile event.
In this Coleman became the inaugural national champion in 1937. Her
second place in the 220y behind Western Australian Decima Norman also
served to gain her a place on the Empire Games team in 1938.
During the Sydney Games, the young Sydney girl won two gold medals
as part of the Australian relay teams. She also took out the silver
medal in the 220y behind the all-conquering Norman.
The Australian women's association had plans to send an Australian
relay team to the 1940 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The team would be based
around Australia's Number One selection Decima Norman and comprise the
best of Australia's other sprinters, hurdlers or jumpers.
As fate would have it, World War II intervened in 1939 and the 1940
Olympics were cancelled. Jean Coleman went on to the 1940 National
Championships in Perth (which would be the last for eight years) and
won the 220y and placed second in the 100y. It seemed likely that any
Australian team in the 1940 Olympics would have included Jean Coleman
in the squad. The talented young woman retired from competition during World War
II, but made a comeback in 1946. Though she was no longer as
fast as in her hey-day, she ran well enough to gain selection in
the NSW 4x110y relay team at the 1948 National Championships.
The team won, setting a world record for the event. Soon after
this, Jean Coleman retired from athletics. |
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