In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including interviews with Pickett's family, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.

[5] She took up running as a schoolgirl; after competing in some local meets she caught the attention of long jumper John Brooks, who began to coach her.

[6]: 77 [7]: 183–184  Pickett was named to the American Olympic team as part of the eight-woman 4 × 100 meter relay pool; she and Louise Stokes, who was also part of the relay pool, were the first African-American women to be selected for the Olympic Games,[8] but both of them were left out of the final four-woman relay lineup that ran at the Olympics.

[9][10] Pickett continued her running career; in 1934 she ran the opening leg on a Chicago Park District team that set an unofficial world record of 48.6 in the 4 × 110 yard relay.

[6]: 86  At the Olympics, Pickett survived the heats but went out in the semi-finals, falling at the second hurdle and injuring herself;[7]: 227 [6]: 86  she was the first African-American woman, as well as the first Illinois State University athlete, to compete in the Olympic Games.