Louise Ritter


Louise Dorothy Ritter is an American former track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1988 Olympic Games.

Biography

Ritter qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. She did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.
Louise won the gold medal in the women's high jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. In doing so she upset Stefka Kostadinova, the reigning world champion and world record-holder in the event. A graduate from Red Oak High School she now has a street named after her located in her former home town of Red Oak, TX.
She graduated from Texas Woman's University in 1988 where she starred for U.S. Olympic coach Dr. Bert Lyle.
She was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2012.

Achievements

Note: During the 1980s, the US Championships and US Olympic trials were separate events.