Texas Woman's University Athletics

Louise Ritter, a three-time Olympic qualifier, won the high jump gold medal in Seoul, South Korea on Sept. 30, 1988 during the Summer Olympics in what is considered one of the Games’ major upsets.  The world’s attention was focused on Ritter as she set an Olympic record and tied her American record with a jump of 6-foot-8.  Ritter defeated the reigning world champion Stefka Kostadinova and won the United States a gold medal in women’s high jump for the first time since 1956.       
 
A native of Red Oak, Texas, Ritter started her pursuit of Olympic immortality at Red Oak High School in 1976.  After high school, she attended Texas Woman’s University where she competed in track and field as well as basketball.  She was coached by Dr. Bert Lyle and set the collegiate women’s high jump record during her freshmen year.  Ritter also won national collegiate championships in 1977, 1978 and 1979.  Ritter obtained a degree in physical education in 1982.
 
At the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ritter won the gold.  In 1983 at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki, Ritter won bronze.  At the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, she finished eighth.  The TWU alumna represented the U.S. in the 1987 World Championships in Rome where she also placed eighth. 
 
Ritter is a five-time USA Track & Field Indoor Champion in High Jump – 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988 and 1989.  She is a four-time USA Track & Field Outdoor Champion – 1978, 1983, 1985 and 1986.      
 
TWU coined “Louise Ritter Day” on Oct. 19, 1988 where she was received with a grand celebration on the Denton campus and presented with a plaque commemorating her accomplishments.  She was then bestowed one of the highest honors her alma mater could give her by being named a TWU Distinguished Alumna in 1989. 
 
When the TWU Athletics Hall of Fame was founded in 1994, Ritter was selected for induction with the inaugural class along with her former coach Dr. Lyle. 
 
In the record books as the premier women’s high jumper in the U.S. from 1979-89, Ritter was then inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1995.  The Texas Sports Hall of Fame added her to their list of inductees in their Class of 1997 (with the ceremony held on Jan. 29. 1998).
 
Ritter served as an assistant track coach at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and was the head track coach at Texas Tech University.  She currently lives in Dallas.