Jane Frederick (2022) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Jane Frederick

Induction:
2022
Class:
1973

She attended Colorado at a time that just predated women’s varsity programs; though non-existent, she still made use of CU’s athletic facilities to train en route to becoming a true pioneer in women’s track & field … “I worked out in the fieldhouse at night on my own. I scheduled all my classes in early in the morning and got my homework done so I could go to the fieldhouse early in the evening and run, and I even found my way to the weight room and did my own stuff,” she said in a 2007 interview … In late 1972, she played a significant role with four others who went to then-athletic director Eddie Crowder to start a women’s varsity track and field program at CU … Won the 1973 AIAW national championship in the pentathlon, which made her CU’s first female national champion in any sport … Considered one of the top U.S. women's combined-events athletes in history, she won the USA Outdoor national titles a record nine times: a five-time champion in the pentathlon (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979) and a four-time winner in the heptathlon (1981, 1983, 1985, 1986) … A two-time Olympian in the pentathlon and heptathlon, she was 21st in the pentathlon in the ’72 Summer Olympics in Munich and seventh in the ‘76 Games in Montreal (she won both the ’72 and ’76 U.S. Olympic Trials) … She competed in two World Outdoor Championships as a member of Team USA, winning the bronze medal in 1987 … She set the U.S. pentathlon record on five occasions (first on June 23, 1972 with 4,169 points, last on March 30, 1976 with 4,732); set the heptathlon record six times (6,104 points on April 23, 1981 with 6,803 on Sept. 15, 1984; her personal best of 6,803 points places her as the world 14th all-time best performer_ … She was ranked top 10 among world combined eventers by Track & Field News 11 times (No. 1 in 1985) … In addition to her prowess in the heptathlon, she won the U.S. Outdoor 100-meter hurdles titles in 1975 and 1976 (in 13.80 and 13.29 times, respectively), and the U.S. indoor hurdles crown in 1977 (7.30) … Also posted three top five finishes in the World University Games (first in 1975, second in 1977 and fifth in 1973) … In one of her final events before retiring, she placed third in the 1987 World Outdoor Championships with 6,502 points in the heptathlon … After her athletic career, she became a track coach, an assistant at the University of Texas, where the women won the NCAA championship in her first season (1990) … She coached four national champions and eight All-Americans at Texas before moving on to coach at UC-Santa Barbara … She also coached two Olympians, Carlette Guidry and Kym Carter … She remained coached track and field at UCSB until 1996, when she transitioned into strength and conditioning and developed the first such program at the school, oversaw the building of the first-ever weight room at UCSB which opened in 1998 … She remained the head strength and conditioning coach over both the men’s and women’s team until 2002, when she left to go into private coaching as a personal trainer (just retired in early 2022) … She graduated from CU in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in Italian Language and Literature … Inducted to the Nike Hall of Fame in 1991 and the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2007 … She was born April 7, 1952 in Oakland, Calif., and graduated from Miramonte High School (Orinda, Calif.).