Benita Fitzgerald, born in Warrenton, Virginia, on July 6, 1961, attended Prince William County schools until graduating from Garfield High School in 1979. She attended First Mount Zion Baptist Church and was a member of the Dalelites, the Dale City Lassie League, the Garfield Symphonic Track Team, Symphonic Band, and the National Honor Society. In 1984 she graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in industrial engineering and 15 All-America titles. Her athletic honors include an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meter hurdles at the XXIII Olympiad in 1984, the Pan American Games championship in 1983, and U.S. national championships in 1983 and 1986. She was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame, and the Potomac News named her “Sportswomen of the 20th Century.” Her parents, Rodger and Fannie Fitzgerald, are long-standing Prince William County residents.