Lillian Copeland facts for kids

Lillian Copeland in 1938
Quick facts for kids Personal information
Birth name	Lillian Drossin
Born	November 24, 1904 New York City, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1964 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California (1930) University of Southern California Law School
Employer	Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
Height	1.65 m
Weight	59 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Discus throw, shot put, javelin throw
Club	Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles
Achievements and titles
National finals	AAU shot put champion (1924–28, 1931) AAU discus throw champion (1926 and 1927) AAU javelin throw champion (1926 and 1931)
Highest world ranking	world champion; multiple times
Personal best(s)	DT – 40.58 m (1932) SP – 9.38 m (1925) JT – 38.21 m (1927)
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1932 Los Angeles Discus throw Silver 1928 Amsterdam Discus throw Maccabiah Games Gold 1935 Mandatory Palestine Discus throw Gold 1935 Mandatory Palestine Javelin throw Gold 1935 Mandatory Palestine Shot put

Lillian Copeland (born Lillian Drossin; November 24, 1904 – July 7, 1964) was an amazing American track and field athlete. She was an Olympic champion who was really good at throwing events like the discus, javelin throwing, and shot put. She even set many world records! People called her "the most successful female discus thrower in U.S. history."

Lillian won a silver medal in discus at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Four years later, she won a gold medal in discus at the 1932 Summer Olympics. She also earned three gold medals (in discus, javelin, and shot put) at the 1935 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine. In 1928, The New York Times said she was "considered by many the all around best woman athlete in the country." For 74 years, she was the only American woman to win the discus throw at a modern Olympics. Lillian Copeland is honored in several Halls of Fame, including the USATF Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Education

Lillian Drossin was born in New York City. Her parents were immigrants from Poland. Her father passed away when she was young. Later, her mother remarried, and they moved to Los Angeles, California. The family then took the last name Copeland. Her stepfather, Abraham Copeland, managed a fruit company.

Lillian lived in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, and later in Pasadena, California. She went to Los Angeles High School and graduated in 1923. She then attended the University of Southern California. There, she joined a sorority and the track and field team in 1924. While at USC, she won every track event she entered! She even had a small role as a basketball player in a silent comedy film called The Fair Co-Ed in 1927. She earned a degree in political science in 1928. Lillian was the first Olympian to have graduated from both Los Angeles High School and the University of Southern California.

Amazing Athletic Career

Lillian Copeland competed when women's track and field was just starting to become popular. Her achievements helped shape the sport. She first competed for the Pasadena Athletic and Country Club starting in 1925. From 1931, she competed for the Los Angeles Athletic Club. She also ran in races and was part of a relay team that set a U.S. record in 1928.

Lillian was especially good at all throwing events. She won the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) shot put championships five times (1924–28, 1931). She also won the AAU discus throw title in 1926 and 1927. In 1926, she set a world record in the discus throw. She started competing in discus because shot put was not yet an Olympic event. She also won the AAU javelin throw title in 1926 and 1931. She broke the world record in the javelin three times between 1926 and 1927. From 1928 to 1931, she took a break from sports to focus on her law school studies.

Both Great Athletes in Olympic Sports and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame say that Lillian set world records six times each in shot put, javelin, and discus between 1925 and 1932.

Olympic Games Achievements

1928 Amsterdam Olympics

Copeland throwing the discus at the 1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics were the first Olympics to include track and field events for women. In throwing events, Lillian could only compete in the discus throw. This was because the javelin throw and shot put were not yet part of the Olympic program for women.

Lillian set a new world record in the discus throw during the Olympic trials. Before the Olympics, in February 1928, she helped the U.S. Women's team set a new record in a relay race. This helped her qualify for the Olympics in that event.

At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, she competed only in the discus throw. She won a silver medal, finishing second to Halina Konopacka from Poland. Since it was the first time this event was held, she became the sport's first Olympic silver medalist. Two weeks later, she set another new world record in the shot put at a competition in Belgium.

After returning to America, she went to the University of Southern California Law School. She became less focused on sports for a few years. However, Lillian still qualified for the U.S. 1932 Olympic team for the discus throw.

1932 Los Angeles Olympics

Training for the 1932 Summer Olympics

Lillian competed in her home city at the 1932 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal in the discus with her very last throw! A reporter wrote that she was "Confident, calm and perfectly poised." She also set a new Olympic record with that throw. Her throw of 133.16 feet was also a new world record. At 27 years old, Lillian Copeland was the oldest American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event at that time.

The shot put, which she was excellent at, was not included in women's Olympic events until 1948. This meant she didn't get a chance to win more Olympic medals in that event.

1936 Berlin Olympics Boycott

Lillian had started training to defend her gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Games in Nazi Germany. She was invited to compete for the United States. However, she decided to boycott (refuse to participate in) the Games. Her decision to boycott began in 1933, as the Nazi Party gained more power.

As a Jew, Lillian was strongly against Adolf Hitler's rule that banned Jews from the German Olympic team. She was one of 24 former U.S. Olympic champions who asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1933 to move the Games from Germany. Lillian believed the situation in Nazi Germany was serious enough to change the location of the 1936 Olympics. She spoke out against ignoring the religious and racial hatred promoted by Nazi Germany. She wanted people to understand that such discrimination should not be overlooked, even in sports. However, the boycott movement did not succeed, and the 1936 Games went ahead in Germany.

Maccabiah Games Success

Lillian Copeland competed at the 1935 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, which was then called Mandatory Palestine. There, she won gold medals in all three of her events: the shot put, the javelin, and the discus throw.

Halls of Fame Honors

Because of her important contributions to women's track and field, Lillian Copeland was honored in many Halls of Fame. These include the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (in 1980), the Woman’s Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Los Angeles High School Sports Hall of Fame (in 2010). In 1990, she was also inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Later Life and Legacy

Lillian Copeland joined the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department in 1936. She worked there until she retired in 1960. At the Sheriff's Department, she worked in divisions that helped young people.

She passed away on July 7, 1964, in Los Angeles, at 59 years old. At the time of her death, she was one of only eight American women to have won an Olympic gold medal.

See also

• List of Jews in track and field
• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
• List of USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners