Olympic record : 2 gold medals . - The first time a woman won the 100 m sprint in an Olympics was at the 1912 Games, when Swede Lotta Lepistö beat American Helen Stephens by less than one second to win her heat The first ever black African woman to win Olympic gold . Runner ; born March 21 , 1972 , in Bekoji , Ethiopia .
Olympic record : 2 gold medals . Only woman to have won a long-distance gold at two separate Olympics . The first ever black African woman to win Olympic gold . Runner ; born March 21 , 1972 , in Bekoji , Ethiopia .