Evelyn Furtsch
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Furtsch is a former American
athlete.
Furtsch was awarded a gold medal
in the 4 x 100 metres relay
with teammates Mary Carew
, Annette Rogers
and Wilhelmina von Bremen
at the 1932 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles
.
Furtsch was born in San Diego, California
. She and her family moved to Orange County
when she was 8 years old. During her Junior year at Tustin High School, a gym teacher noticed that she ran very fast. It was brought to the attention of Tustin High track coach, Vincent Humeston where she was soon training and running with the boys track team. At the time, only big cities and big city schools had organized women's track & field. Humeston got in touch with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, who were at the time, training girls for the 1932 Olympics.
In the 1932 Olympics, the Women's 4 x 100 meters relay team broke both the Olympic and World Record. Although they ran it in 46.9 seconds, the Olympics at that time did not count tenths of a second. So the Olympic record was recorded at 47.0 seconds and the World Record at 46.9 seconds.
Furtsch was the first woman in Orange County to win an Olympic gold medal. She was elected into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
By January 2007 she was the last surviving member of the 1932 4x100 meter relay team.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete.
Furtsch was awarded a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the 4 x 100 metres relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
with teammates Mary Carew
Mary Carew
Mary Louise Carew Armstrong was an American athlete who competed in the sprints. She was born in Medford, Massachusetts....
, Annette Rogers
Annette Rogers
Annette Rogers Kelly was an American sprinter who competed mainly in the 100 metres.She was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts and graduated from the Northwestern University....
and Wilhelmina von Bremen
Wilhelmina von Bremen
Wilhelmina von Bremen was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100 meters.She competed for the United States in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, USA in the 100 meters where she finished third, she then joined with teammates Mary Carew, Evelyn Furtsch and Annette Rogers to...
at the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Furtsch was born in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She and her family moved to Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
when she was 8 years old. During her Junior year at Tustin High School, a gym teacher noticed that she ran very fast. It was brought to the attention of Tustin High track coach, Vincent Humeston where she was soon training and running with the boys track team. At the time, only big cities and big city schools had organized women's track & field. Humeston got in touch with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, who were at the time, training girls for the 1932 Olympics.
In the 1932 Olympics, the Women's 4 x 100 meters relay team broke both the Olympic and World Record. Although they ran it in 46.9 seconds, the Olympics at that time did not count tenths of a second. So the Olympic record was recorded at 47.0 seconds and the World Record at 46.9 seconds.
Furtsch was the first woman in Orange County to win an Olympic gold medal. She was elected into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
By January 2007 she was the last surviving member of the 1932 4x100 meter relay team.