1923 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The 1923 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships women's competition were the first national track and field championships for women in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The tournament was held on 29 September 1923 at Weequahic Park[7][8] in Newark, New Jersey.

1923 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Dates	September 29
Host city	Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States
Venue	Weequahic Park
← first (women) 1924 →

Background

After the initial Women's World Games in 1922 in Paris and the three Women's Olympiads (1921 Women's Olympiad, 1922 Women's Olympiad and 1923 Women's World Games) in Monaco, interest in women's sports grew internationally. In 1922, the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) was founded in the United Kingdom. The WAAA organised the first official British women's championships in track and field (WAAA Championships) on 18 August 1923 at the Oxo Sports Ground in Downham outside London.

In the United States, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was founded in 1888, and held its first national championship for women in the sport of swimming in 1916.[4] In 1922, try-outs for the 1922 Women's World Games were held on 13 May at Oaksmere School in Mamaroneck, New York.[9] Some historians consider this event to be the first "national" women's track meet.[9]

In 1923, the AAU sponsored the first official American women's championships in track and field.[5][6][1][7][2][3]

Events

The meet was held on 29 September 1922 at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey.[1][2][8][5][4][6][10] Female athletes for the 1922 games also trained at Weequahic Park.[10]

The athletes competed in 11 events: running 50 yards, 100 yards, relay race 4x110 yards, hurdling 60 yards, high jump, long jump, discus throw, shot put, javelin, baseball throw (softball throw) and basketball throw.[8][3][7][4][1] The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports.

Results

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
50 yds	Marion McCartie City Bank Club	6,06sec	Frances Ruppert Meadowbrook Club		Mabel Steel Camp Alamo
100 yds	Frances Ruppert Meadowbrook Club	12,0 sec	Marion McCartie City Bank Club		Madeline Adams Meadowbrook Club
Relay 4x110 yds	Meadowbrook Club Philadelphia	52,4 sec	City Bank Club New York		Board of Recreation Paterson, NJ
Hurdling 60 yds	Hazel Kirk Prudential Insurance	9,6 sec	Esther Behring Prudential Insurance		Rose Garlock Newark Normal School
High jump	Catherine Wright Bridgeport A.C.	4 ft 7½ in	Helen Dinnehey Shanahan CC	4 ft 6 ¼ in	Ida Robinson Philadelphia Turngemeinde	4 ft 5 ¼ in
Long jump	Helen Dinnehey Shanahan CC	15 ft 4 in	Alice Adams Prudential Insurance	15 ft ½ in	Florence Bitner Meadowbrook Club	14 ft
Discus	Babe Wolbert UNAT	71 ft 9½ in	Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde	70 ft 10 in	Carrie Gerold Bridgeport A.C.	65 ft 10½ in
Shot put 8 lb	Bertha Christophel GATC	30 ft 10½ in	Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde	29 ft 10 5/8 in	Gladys Booth Prudential Insurance	28 ft 3 in
Javelin	Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde	59 ft 7¾ in	Jeanette Casper Bridgeport A.C.	59 ft 1½ in	Gladys Booth Prudential Insurance	58 ft 8 in
Softball throw	Elinor Churchill Robinson F.S.	234 ft 5¾ in	Mildred Crotty Bridgeport A.C	222 ft 9½ in	Grace Castor Philadelphia Turngemeinde	204 ft 4 in
Basketball throw	Esther Behring Prudential Insurance	87 ft 6 in	Elinor Churchill Robinson F.S.	86 ft 8 in	Grace Castor Philadelphia Turngemeinde	80 ft 7 in

Elinor Churchill's baseball throw of 234 feet, 5 ¾ inches also was a new world record,[2] improving her record set the previous year by more than 10 feet.[6][5]

References

1. Tricard, Louise Mead (1996). American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980. 1. McFarland. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-7864-0219-9. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
2. "Woman Sets Record For Baseball". Courier Journal. Louisville KY. September 30, 1923. p. 62. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
3. "USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions". USA Track & Field. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
4. Woolum, Janet (1998). "Outstanding Women Athletes: Who They Are and How They Influenced Sports In America". Greenwood. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-57356-120-4. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
5. "Elinor Churchill". Exeter Historical Society. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
6. "Elinor Churchill". Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
7. "United States Championships (women)". GBR Athletics.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
8. "USA National Championship, Newark 1923". Brinkster.net. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
9. "Camille Sabie". NJSports.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
10. "Glimpse of History: Woman athletes make history". NJ.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

External links

• Outdoor Track & Field Champions (USA Track & Field)
• USA National Championships – Women (Trackfield.brinkster.net)