Director of Track & Field
Olympic gold medalist, Hall of Famer and legendary Tigerbelle Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice enters her 31st season leading the Tennessee State University track and field program, continuing a career that has made her one of the most accomplished figures in American track and field history.
Cheeseborough-Guice returned to her alma mater in 1994 to succeed legendary Tennessee State coach Ed Temple as head coach of the women's track and field program. She was elevated to Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field in June 2011 and has spent more than three decades carrying forward the championship tradition of the famed Tigerbelles.
Her impact on the sport extends well beyond Tennessee State. A three-time U.S. Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, Cheeseborough-Guice was inducted into the USA Track & Field National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2000. She is also a member of the Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame and was inducted into the inaugural class of the National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Coaching Career at Tennessee State
Since returning to TSU in 1994, Cheeseborough-Guice has built championship teams while developing student-athletes who have competed on the conference, regional and national stages.
Under her leadership, Tennessee State's women's program has captured nine Ohio Valley Conference track and field championships. Her success has earned her nine OVC Coach of the Year honors:
- OVC Women's Indoor Coach of the Year — 2002, 2003, 2008, 2014, 2016
- OVC Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year — 2001, 2002, 2008, 2015
Cheeseborough-Guice has coached six All-Americans during her tenure at Tennessee State — Tremaine Wortham, Clairwin Dameus, Amber Hughes, Royce Dates, Quamel Prince and R'Lazon Brumfield — in addition to guiding 16 regional qualifiers.
Her contributions to Tennessee State and women's athletics were recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022, when the league named Cheeseborough-Guice its Tennessee State Title IX Pioneer as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Title IX.
Her tenure represents a direct link between generations of Tennessee State track and field excellence. A former Tigerbelle coached by the legendary Ed Temple, Cheeseborough-Guice returned to Nashville to succeed her former coach and has continued the program's tradition of developing championship athletes.
Team USA Coaching Career
Cheeseborough-Guice's coaching success has also earned her numerous opportunities to represent the United States on the international stage.
In 1999, she served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the Junior Pan American Championships in Tampa, Florida.
She was selected as the women's sprints coach for the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Team USA finished the Games with 23 track and field medals, including 10 gold.
One year later, Cheeseborough-Guice was selected as the women's head coach for Team USA at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin. The United States collected 22 medals during the championships.
She returned to the Team USA staff in 2015 as an assistant coach at the Pan American Games in Toronto, helping guide American sprinters and hurdlers who contributed 10 of the team's 41 medals.
Olympic Career
Before becoming one of the sport's most respected coaches, Cheeseborough-Guice established herself as one of the premier sprinters of her generation.
She represented the United States on three Olympic teams in 1976, 1980 and 1984.
At just 17 years old, Cheeseborough-Guice finished second in both the 100 and 200 meters at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the Montreal Olympic Games. She advanced to the Olympic final in the 100 meters, finishing sixth.
She qualified for her second Olympic team in 1980 but was unable to compete in Moscow because of the United States' boycott of the Games.
Cheeseborough-Guice produced the defining performance of her Olympic career at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. She earned three medals, winning gold as a member of the United States' 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams while claiming silver in the individual 400 meters.
Her performance made Olympic history as she became the first woman to win gold medals in both Olympic relays at the same Games.
She clocked a career-best 49.05 seconds in the 400-meter final, one of the signature performances of her career.
Tigerbelle Career
Cheeseborough-Guice's connection to Tennessee State began before she officially enrolled at the University.
During her junior and senior years of high school, she participated in Tennessee State's summer track and field program and competed with the TSU Track Club under Temple. She later became a Tigerbelle herself, continuing Tennessee State's storied tradition of producing world-class women's sprinters.
As a collegiate athlete, Cheeseborough-Guice was part of national championship teams that established world indoor records in the 640-yard relay (1:08.9) and 800-yard sprint medley relay (1:47.17).
Individually, she captured four national indoor championships in the 200-yard dash, winning titles in 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983.
Her accomplishments ultimately earned her induction into the Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.
International and High School Career
A Jacksonville, Florida native, Cheeseborough-Guice emerged as an international track and field star before she had even graduated from high school.
At 16 years old, she burst onto the international stage at the 1975 Pan American Games, capturing gold in the 200-meter dash while establishing a world junior record of 22.77 seconds. She also captured the national TAC 100-meter championship with a time of 11.13 seconds.
At Jean Ribault High School, Cheeseborough-Guice was a dominant multi-sport athlete, competing in track and field, basketball and volleyball. She earned All-Conference recognition in all three sports for three consecutive years and was a Parade All-American in basketball after averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds per game.
On the track, she won three consecutive state championships in both the 100- and 220-yard dashes from 1975-77. She established state and national records in both events in 1977 and added a state championship in the long jump.
Hall of Fame and Honors
Cheeseborough-Guice's accomplishments as an athlete, coach and ambassador for track and field have earned recognition at the national, state, conference and university levels.
Her honors include:
- USA Track & Field National Track & Field Hall of Fame — Class of 2000
- Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame — Class of 1988
- Inaugural National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame inductee
- Ohio Valley Conference Title IX Pioneer — 2022
- Jimmy Carnes Lifetime Achievement Award
- Nine-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year
- Three-time United States Olympian — 1976, 1980, 1984
- Three-time Olympic medalist — two gold, one silver
- Four-time national indoor 200-yard champion
Cheeseborough-Guice graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education.
More than five decades after first joining the Tigerbelle tradition as a young athlete, Cheeseborough-Guice remains one of the central figures in Tennessee State's storied track and field history, connecting the championship legacy established by Ed Temple with the generations of Tigers and Tigerbelles who have followed.
