D'Andre Hill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
D'Andre Hill

Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold	1995 Gothenburg	4 × 100 m relay

D'Andre "DeeDee" Hill (born April 19, 1973) is an American track and field coach and a former amazing athlete! She was a very fast runner, specializing in sprint races, especially the 100-meter dash. Her fastest time in the 100 m was 10.92 seconds.

DeeDee represented the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She also won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. Even though she only ran in the qualifying races, she still earned the gold medal!

While studying at Louisiana State University (LSU), DeeDee became a three-time individual champion in college sports. She won the 100 m race twice and the indoor 60-meter dash once. She also helped her team win three relay titles. After her running career, DeeDee became a college track coach. She even became the head coach at Vanderbilt University, making history as the first African-American head coach there.

DeeDee Hill's Amazing Running Career

Becoming a Top Sprinter

DeeDee Hill was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She went to Mount Healthy High School and quickly became a talented sprinter. She won three state titles in high school. She also placed second in the 100 m and 200-meter dash at the 1989 USATF Junior Olympics. She was runner-up in the 100 m again the next year.

DeeDee earned a special scholarship to study kinesiology (the study of body movement) at Louisiana State University. She started running for the LSU Lady Tigers track and field team in 1994. In her first big college competition, the 1994 NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, she was a finalist in two races. This earned her "All-America" honors, which means she was recognized as one of the best college athletes.

During her first outdoor season, she finished second in the 100 m at two big events. At the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she helped her team win the 4 × 100 m relay title. She also placed third in both the 100 m and 200 m races. Later that year, she made her debut in senior national competitions. She reached the 100 m final at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Winning Gold and Setting Records

In her second year at LSU, DeeDee continued to shine. She was a finalist in two sprint races at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won both her individual race and the relay at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships.

At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she won two more gold medals! She helped the Lady Tigers win the relay title again. She also claimed her first individual college title in the 100 m, finishing in 11.11 seconds. She also placed sixth in the 200 m.

DeeDee kept improving and finished fourth at the 1995 USA Outdoor Championships. This earned her a spot on the United States relay team for the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. She ran in the qualifying heats for the 4 × 100 m relay. She helped her team finish first in those heats. In the final race, the American women won the gold medal! DeeDee shared in this honor because she helped the team qualify.

In her third and final year with the LSU Lady Tigers, DeeDee continued to earn "All American" honors. She won the indoor 55 m title. She also defended her outdoor 100 m individual and relay titles. She had her best finishes in the 200 m, coming second both indoors and outdoors. She won all the short sprint titles at the Southeastern Conference level. This included the indoor 60-meter dash and 200 m races, plus the 100 m dash and relay titles outdoors. By the end of her college career, DeeDee had won six NCAA titles. This was the second-highest number in LSU's track program history!

Olympic Dreams

DeeDee ran her fastest times ever in 1996. This included 6.69 seconds for the 55 m, 7.21 seconds for the 60 m indoors, and 22.49 seconds for the 200 m outdoors.

At the 1996 United States Olympic Trials, she kept getting faster in the 100 m. She ran 11.00 seconds, then 10.99, then 10.97. In the final, she ran an amazing 10.92 seconds to finish third! This earned her a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

At the 1996 Atlanta Games, DeeDee reached the semi-finals of the 100 m. She finished sixth in her semi-final race and was eliminated.

In 1996, she also won the Honda Sports Award. This award recognizes the best female college track and field athlete in the nation. After college, her professional running career didn't take off as much.

Becoming a Coach

After retiring from running, DeeDee quickly started coaching. She was the women's head track and field coach at the University of Dayton from 2001 to 2004.

In December 2004, she moved to Texas Christian University (TCU). There, she was an assistant coach, focusing on sprints and relays. Under her coaching, the TCU Horned Frogs women's 4×400 m relay team reached the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in 2005. The team returned the next year, broke the school record, and finished seventh! She coached many talented athletes, including NCAA 200 m finalist Virgil Hodge. During her time at TCU, the women's team improved a lot, moving up in the national rankings.

In 2007, DeeDee Hill became the head track and field coach at Vanderbilt University. This was a very important moment because she was the first ever African-American person to become a head coach for a Vanderbilt Commodores athletic team. She focused on making the team strong in sprint events.

DeeDee Hill's Fastest Times

• 100-meter dash – 10.92 seconds (1996)
• 200-meter dash – 22.49 seconds (1996)
• 55-meter dash indoor – 6.69 seconds (1996)
• 60-meter dash indoor – 7.21 seconds (1996)
• 200-meter dash indoor – 23.24 seconds (1996)

International Competitions

National Titles (College)

• NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships
  • 100-meter dash: 1995, 1996
• NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships
  • 55-meter dash: 1996