Phyllis Edness

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Phyllis Edness
Edness in 1948
Personal information
NationalityBermudian
Born(1930-04-08)8 April 1930
Bermuda
Diedc. before 2007
Sport
SportSprinting
Event(s)100 metres, 200 metres

Phyllis Adelle Edness-Holland (born 8 April 1930 – c. before 2007) was a Bermudian sprinter. She was selected to be part of the Bermudian team at the 1948 Summer Olympics and was one of the favourites to win the women's 100 metres. She was one of the first women to represent Bermuda at a Games, also becoming the first Black Bermudian woman to compete at any edition of the Games.

At the Games, she did not make past the preliminary rounds of the women's 100 metres and women's 200 metres, citing stomach cramps. After the Games, she studied at Central State University and graduated in 1956. She married in the same year of her graduation and later died before 2007.

Biography

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Edness training before the 1948 Summer Games.

Phyllis Adelle Edness was born on 8 April 1930 in Bermuda to Joseph and Myrtle Edness, who hail from Pembroke Parish.[1] Her cousin was eventual acting premier Quinton Edness.[2] Phyllis studied at Sandy's Secondary School in Somerset Village, Bermuda.[1]

Coming into the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Edness was one of the favourites to win the gold medal in the women's 100 metres.[2] While representing the school at the Bermudian Olympic trials, she had placed first and broken the Bermudian record in the women's 100 metres with a time of 12.7 seconds. This time also broke the Bermudian Olympic selection standard of 13.3 seconds.[3] In the same trials, she had also broken the Bermudian record in the women's 200 metres with a time of 27.5 seconds.[4][5]

She was announced to be part of the Bermudian team at the 1948 Summer Olympics on 22 June 1948 at a ceremony held by the Bermuda Olympic Association. In the lead-up to the games she and other members of the athletics team were coached by DJ Williams.[6][7] At a practice session at Prospect Garrison Field, she had broken her personal best time in the 100 metres with a time of 12.4 seconds.[5]

Edness and the rest of the team left for New York City on July 13 to travel to London for the 1948 Summer Games.[5] Alongside fellow sprinter Phyllis Lightbourn-Jones, Edness would be one of the first women to compete for Bermuda at an Olympic Games, also being the first Black Bermudian woman to compete at a Games.[1] She and Lightbourn-Jones were stated to have struggled to adapt to the climate of London at the time.[8]

Edness first competed in the preliminary rounds women's 100 metres on 31 July against four other athletes. She was leading the race for 85 metres but had a bout of stomach cramps and eventually finished with a time of 13.6 seconds, leading for the other competitors to overtake her.[9] She placed third and did not qualify for the semifinals.[10][7] She then competed in the preliminary rounds of the women's 200 metres five days later on 5 August against four other athletes. She placed last in her heat[a] and did not advance further to the semifinals.[12]

After the 1948 Olympic Games, she studied at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and graduated with a degree majoring in physical education in 1956. In the same year, she married Jackson Holland in New York City, adopting the name Phyllis Adelle Edness-Holland. She later died before 2007.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Royal Gazette reported that she had placed fourth, overtaking Melânia Luz in the last few moments.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Phyllis Edness Biographical Information". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Hill only medallist". The Royal Gazette. 9 August 1996. Archived from the original on 21 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Records Fall in Colony's Olympic Trials". The Royal Gazette. 31 May 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 22 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  4. ^ "Track and Field Records". Bermuda Sports. Archived from the original on 21 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  5. ^ a b c "Track and Field Team Shaping Up". The Royal Gazette. 8 July 1948. p. 6 – via Bermuda National Library.
  6. ^ "Twelve Athletes Chosen to Represent Bermuda". The Royal Gazette. 22 June 1948 – via Bermuda National Library.
  7. ^ a b "Island's athletes have long legacy under the Olympic spotlight". Bermuda Sun. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  8. ^ Brown, Bernard (28 July 1948). "Dill and Gosling Seen as Best Hopes of Bermuda Olympic team in London". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 22 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  9. ^ "Gosling Makes Tenth in Diving; Lightbourn in 100-Metre Semi-finals". The Royal Gazette. 2 August 1948. Retrieved 22 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  10. ^ "100 Metres, Women". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Phyllis Lightbourn Faints On Finish Line; Eliminated in Semi-finals of Sprint". The Royal Gazette. 6 August 1948. Retrieved 22 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  12. ^ "200 Metres, Women". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
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