Born November 20, 1911, Harrisburg, Pa.

When women first competed in Olympic track and field at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, one of the youngest competitors in the field was Jean Shiley, a 16-year-old student at Haverford Township High School in Pennsylvania.

She placed fourth in the high jump in 1928, then dominated U.S. women's high jumping for the next three years, winning national titles in 1929, 1930 and 1931. She tied Babe Didriksen for the title in 1932 and both competed in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles where they staged one of the greatest one-on-one duels in Olympic history. Didriksen was the women's star of the Games but in the high jump they matched each other jump for jump and each cleared 5-5 to set a world record. In the jumpoff for 1st place at 5-5 3/4 each made the height but Didriksen's "diving roll" style was ruled inadmissible and Shiley was awarded the gold medal. That world record was to stand for seven years and it remained the American record until 1948. Shiley also set the American indoor record in 1929 and 1930 and the latter mark of 5-3 1/4 remained the American indoor record for 38 years. A 1933 graduate of Temple University, she was the captain of the 1932 Olympic women's track and field team and remained active until 1936 when she was declared a "professional" for teaching swimming and serving as a lifeguard.