Catherine Hardy

Catherine Hardy Lavender

Hardy training for the Olympics.
Medal record Women’s athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 4x100 m relay

Catherine Hardy Lavender (née Catherine Hardy) (born February 8, 1930) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100-meter dash. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 1952 Olympic Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland. Later Hardy married, had children, and a 30-year teaching career in Atlanta schools.

Hardy Lavender was born in Carroll County, Georgia, the third of eight children born to Ernest and Emma (Echols) Hardy. After graduating from Carroll County Training School at age 16, she wanted to attend Tuskegee Institute. Her family was a farming family of limited means, however; so she attended Fort Valley State College (now Fort Valley State University) instead. Though West Georgia College (now University of West Georgia) was only a few miles from Hardy's home in Carrollton, schools were still segregated and as an African-American, Hardy had to look elsewhere to attend college.

In college, Hardy continued playing basketball and enjoyed it. Raymond Pitts, the track coach at Fort Valley, encouraged her to look into track. She agreed, and in 1949, she ran and won her first race at the Tuskegee Relays. Two years later, she won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) indoor meet in New York City, winning the 50-yard dash and setting a new American record. From 1951-1952, she made All-American.

Hardy received a lot of support at Fort Valley for her athletic pursuits. She worked very hard with her track coaches, Catherine and Richard Craig, and to this day, speaks of them with much fondness. Mr. Bill Burroughs of Fort Valley also had a great impact on her track life, serving as her student trainer.