Dorothy Louise RITTER

The highlight of Louise Ritter’s high jump career came when she won the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, upsetting the favorite, Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova. Ritter also won a high jump gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games and a bronze medal at the 1983 World Championships. She was US Champion in the high jump four times, winning in 1978, 1983, and 1985-86, and won the Olympic Trials three times, in 1980, 1984, and 1988. She was also a seven-time runner-up at the US Nationals. During her career she set 10 US records in the high jump, the first in April 1978, and the final one, 2.03, that won her gold at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. She was ranked nine times in the world top 10, with high rankings of #2 in 1988 and #3 in 1983 and 1985. Ritter attended Texas Women’s University.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.03 (1988).