“The people who ran for me ran simply because they loved the sport.” These words from Tennessee State University’s venerated track and field coach, Edward Temple, are certainly true for one of his most accomplished athletes, Edith McGuire Duvall. Along with such remarkable figures as Wilma Rudolph and Wyomia Tyus, McGuire was part of the famous Tigerbelle program of the 1960s. A 1966 graduate of TSU, she is the only American woman ever to hold three different AAU titles at different times. She held championships in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and the long jump and made AAU All-American in all three events. Her performance in the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo, Japan, is the stuff of which legends are made. She broke former Tigerbelle Wilma Rudolph’s Olympic record in the 200-meter for a gold medal, won silver in the 100-meter, and helped the U.S.A. to win another silver in the 4 X 100-meter relay. She ranked fourth in the Sportswoman of the World competition that year and was among the ten finalists for the James E. Sullivan Award, given to the outstanding amateur athlete of the year in the United States. In 1991 McGuire was a recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for outstanding athletes. Today, she and her husband Charles own three McDonald’s restaurants in Oakland, California. No surprise that the woman Edward Temple once called “the most versatile girl that I have ever coached” would go on to succeed beyond the athletic arena.
