| Louise Ritter | |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Headercolor: | lightsteelblue |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Louise Dorothy Ritter (born February 18, 1958) is an American former track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1988 Olympic Games.
Ritter qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. She did, however, receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.[1]
Ritter won the gold medal in the women's high jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea.[2] In doing so she upset Stefka Kostadinova, the reigning world champion and world record-holder in the event.
A graduate from Red Oak High School, she now has a street named after her in her former home town of Red Oak, Texas.[3]
She graduated from Texas Woman's University in 1988 where she starred for U.S. Olympic coach Dr. Bert Lyle.
Ritter was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2012,[4] and the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.
Note: During the 1980s, the US Championships and US Olympic trials were separate events.
| Representing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | World Cup | Düsseldorf, Germany | 4th | 1.83 m | |
| 1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | 1.93 m | |
| World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 5th | 1.87 m | ||
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 1.95 m | |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 8th | 1.91 m | |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 8th | 1.89 m | |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 8th | 1.93 m | |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | 2.03 m | |