Madeline Manning Mims – Olympic Medalist and Gospel Artist

January 11, 1948 —

Madeline Manning Mims is an author, international speaker and contemporary gospel recording artist. Her capability as an outstanding musical performer has taken her from the world of athletics to the world of music, where she was requested to use her singing talents for international banquets and stadium renditions, international concerts, television, and studio recordings.

She received a Bachelor of Science in sociology from Tennessee State University and an honorary doctorate in divinity from Oral Roberts University. She is a Bible teacher and track coach at Metro Christian Academy in Tulsa.

Mims was also named one of America’s Outstanding Young Women for her accomplishments in track, as a gold and silver Olympic medalist. She pioneered the 800-meter run for the United States by being the first and only American woman to bring back a gold medal in this event, in addition to setting American, Olympic, and world records. She has been a member of four Olympic Teams for the United States, spanning a 16-year international career.

As a speaker and leader among world athletes, Mims has shared at the White House and on the steps of the Capitol in response to the Presidential address to the Olympians and the American people. Mims has been inducted into the National and Olympic Halls of Fame. She was honored in the stadium at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as an Olympic Legend.

Mims is founder and president of the professional sports chaplains program known as United States Council for Sports Chaplaincy. She has been a chaplain at the 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and the 2004 Greece Olympiads. She is currently studying for a Master of Divinity degree at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is one of the chaplains of the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA.