Women's track pioneer Louise Mead Tricard dies
An accomplished athlete, women's track and field enthusiast, historian
and administrator, Louise Mead Tricard died September 30 at Calvary
Hospital in the Bronx. She was 72.
Mead Tricard, who grew up in the Bronx and in recent years lived in Cape
Canaveral, Fla., was an accomplished athlete who ran the 200 meters at
the 1959 Pan Am Games and competed in the 1960 Olympic Trials, in
addition to setting the U.S. women's indoor 440-yard dash record in
1960. She also competed in masters competition as a sprinter and
marathoner.
Mead Tricard was a driving force in developing girls' high school track
in New York and directed the first state championship for girls at West
Point in 1975. Mead Tricard founded the Empire Track and Field Camp of
Girls in 1976 and managed USA Junior teams in national and international
competition.
An integral member of the Games and Seeding Committees of the Millrose
Games, U.S. Indoor Nationals (then in Madison Square Garden) and Olympic
Invitational, Mead Tricard was involved for many years with the U.S.
Track & Field Library and played a key role in moving the National Track
& Field Hall of Fame to the New Balance Armory in 2004.
Her two books,American Women's Track and Field : A History, 1895 Through 1980, and American Women's Track and Field, 1981-2000 : A History, are recognized as the only comprehensive books ever written on U.S. women's track and field.
Mead Tricard is survived by her sister Jane Peters. Her husband, John,
died earlier this year.
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