Cat Ariail is a third-year doctoral candidate in the Department of History at the University of Miami. She studies the intersection of gender, race, and nationality in women’s sport, with a particular interest in analyzing how female athletes across the Americas have negotiated the limitations produced by these identity categories. Under the direction of Dr. Donald Spivey, she is beginning dissertation research on African American and Afro Caribbean female track stars who competed in regional and international sporting events in the 1950s. She hopes to examine how these women used athletic success to expand their rights and opportunities in both sport and society. Prior to attending Miami, she received her B.A. in American Studies from the University of the South (2009) and her M.A. in History from the University of Georgia (2013). She is an avid distance runner and devoted fan of the Atlanta Hawks. Cat can be contacted at cat.m.ariail@gmail.com or c.ariail@umiami.edu.