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"An inspirational athlete, Alice Coachman and a powerful author, Nadine Gordimer both passed away on July 14 at the age of 90 years old. The women made remarkable strides in changing how we perceive the world and each other. Alice Coachman was a track and field superstar. In 1948, she became the first African American woman from the United States to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Known for her legendary high jump, Coachman won her first national title at 16. Though she was banned from many public sport facilities because of the color of her skin, Coachman did not allow discrimination to impact her athletic career. At the age of 25, she set the Olympic record for the high jump at the London Games. She was inducted in both the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004. Nadine Gordimer, a South African Nobel Prize-winning author used her strong writing capability and voice to advocate against apartheid. Her work brought the civil issues taking place in her home country to the international community, while three of her novels were banned by the oppressive regime. She also became active in the African National Congress, which since apartheid has been the dominating party in South Africa. When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Gordimer was one of the first people he wanted to see. He had read her novel, The Burger&amp;#039;s Daughter, while in prison. Our thoughts are with the friends and families of these amazing women. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/news/a48831/two-history-making-women-alice-coachman-and-nadine-gordimer-pass-away/>