{"id":50573,"date":"2013-06-26T18:02:46","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T22:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=50573"},"modified":"2018-06-29T10:13:45","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T14:13:45","slug":"jeanette-bolden-gold-medalist-and-hall-of-famer-to-lead-track-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/jeanette-bolden-gold-medalist-and-hall-of-famer-to-lead-track-knights\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeanette Bolden: Gold Medalist and Hall of Famer to Lead Track Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"
She is an inductee to the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time NCAA championship coach and a former United States Olympic team coach. And now, she\u2019s a Knight.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, long-time UCLA women\u2019s head coach Jeanette Bolden was appointed as the next head coach of the Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ track and field program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely excited and also honored that Todd Stansbury has the faith in me to lead the track and field program,\u201d Bolden said. \u201cÂé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ is a fresh and vibrant university and has a lot of opportunities for young people. I plan to continue the upward arc of the program. Coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) invested a lot in the team, and I just want to continue the successful path that she started to pave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been at UCLA all my life and I am grateful for the opportunities I had there. I will always be indebted to them, and I thank the athletic department, especially (athletic director) Dan Guerrero, for all they have done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bolden, who comes to Orlando after spending the last 20 years at her alma mater, will fill the void left by Caryl Smith Gilbert, who accepted the position of director of men\u2019s and women\u2019s track and field at USC in early June. Bolden inherits a program that has skyrocketed to the top of collegiate track and field in recent years. The Knights have won six Conference USA titles (4 outdoor, 2 indoor), recorded two top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships and racked up more than 50 All-America honors.<\/p>\n