An injury led April Holmes to rediscover her passion for sport
With a prosthetic left leg, April Holmes competed in four Paralympic Games, winning one gold medal and two bronze.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic history is full of Black heroes, pioneers and trailblazers. Without their stories, the story of Team USA is incomplete. Here is a closer look at some of the Black athletes and coaches and their stories that are featured in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.
With a prosthetic left leg, April Holmes competed in four Paralympic Games, winning one gold medal and two bronze.
The first Black American archer to compete at the Paralympic Games, he was seeded 12th in the compound open tournament at Rio 2016 but captured the gold medal.
The first Black basketball player at Manhattan College, Kellogg famously exposed a point-shaving scandal. He later played for the Harlem Globetrotters and became a wheelchair basketball coach.
A trailblazer in her sport, she succeeded despite almost always being the only Black player in the pool.
The track and field standout originally attended a bobsled tryout in support of her husband but wound up at Olympic champion at Salt Lake 2002.
From San Diego, she traveled across the country to enroll at a boarding school for budding ski racers, earned admission to Harvard and shined at the Innsbruck 1984 Paralympic Winter Games, where she became the first Black American — male or female — to medal in an Olympic or Paralympic Winter Games.
He might not have looked like the prototypical sprinter, but he almost always finished where sprinters wanted to be: first.
A four-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist, Edwin Moses has always shared his knowledge and experience to help fellow athletes and the next generation of athletes.
Fencing provided an opportunity to compete in sports and adhere to the tenets of her religion.
Once ostracized for having the courage to stand for his beliefs, half a century later track star John Carlos has embraced his role as a survivor.
After having his left leg amputated following a devastating injury in practice, he became a Paralympic swimmer, sprinter and long jumper.
The youngest of 13 children and the first member of his family to attend college, LeRoy Walker was the first Black American to coach a U.S. Olympic Team, guiding the men’s track and field team to six gold medals in the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games. Served four years as U.S. Olympic Committee treasurer and four years as U.S. Olympic Committee president.
Months after graduating from college with a degree in industrial engineering, she became the first Black woman to win the good in the 100 meters.
She won two gold medals and two silver medals at Rio 2016.
One of the great shooters of her generation, Teresa Edwards played in five Olympic Games and led the U.S. women’s basketball team to four gold medals.
Tommie Smith is most remembered for his protest atop the Medal Podium, but his world-record speed is not to be overlooked.
1960 decathlon champion also lit the Olympic Cauldron at Los Angeles 1984 and excelled in and out of athletics
Wilma Rudolph overcame several childhood challenges — including being told she would never walk again — to win three track and field gold medals at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games.
After winning two bronze medals at St. Louis 1904, George Poage retreated from the spotlight and had what appears to be a relatively uneventful life.
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Olympic Marks are used under license from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. 36 U.S.C. 220506 Digital Museum development supported in part by a grant from the Colorado Tourism Office.
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