Madeline Manning of Tennessee State won Olympic gold in the 800 meters at Mexico City in 1968 in 2:00.92 – just 0.42 seconds off the world record at the time. It was the zenith of her first three years in college in which she won five indoor or outdoor U.S. titles along with golds at the 1967 Pan-American Games and World University Games. She lost only once during that span.
Her time of 2:00.92 lasted as an all-dates collegiate record until 1976, and as an American record until 1975, when she herself broke it as a post-collegian (she lowered it three more times to an eventual 1:57.90). She was also successful in the 400, earning a silver medal in the Munich Olympics with a split of 51.9 on the second leg after her final year of college in 1972.