“Madeline Manning-Jackson Mims’ 16-year international track and field career included being a member of four U.S. Olympic Teams as well as several National Teams. Diagnosed with spinal meningitis at age three, she wasn’t expected to survive; but her illness helped to shape her life. She pushed beyond it to become a sports champion. Mims attributes her strength to a praying mother who — in the face of doctors’ dire predictions — gave Mims to the Lord, vowing to raise her in His ways.
At the 1968 Games in Mexico, Mims became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the 800 meters, setting an Olympic and world record that she held for fifteen years. In the 1972 Games in Germany, she won a silver medal as a member of the 4×400 meter relay team.
She won a gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games in Canada — the first American woman to break two minutes in the 800 meters. She also made the U.S. Olympics team in 1976 in Montreal and in 1980 in Moscow, but did not participate because of boycotts. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Mims was honored as an Olympic Legend.
Mims has never put her faith on the back shelf. She is the founder and president of the U.S. Council for Sports Chaplaincy, serving as chaplain at five Olympic Games. She is one of three chaplains for the Tulsa Shock professional women’s basketball team. She and her family minister through Sports and the Arts ministry. She’s also an author, international speaker, and contemporary Gospel recording artist.
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