Category: Spotlight

Betty Robinson was fast as a train and remarkably resilient too

She was just 16 years old when she won Olympic gold in the 100 meters; eight years later, after surviving a plane crash, Robinson won Olympic relay gold.

Simone Manuel: first Black female swimmer to win individual Olympic gold

Simone Manuel won two gold medals and two silver medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Olympic champion Benita Fitzgerald-Mosley has been successful in every facet of life

Months after graduating from college with a degree in industrial engineering, Mosley became the first Black woman to win the gold in the 100 meters.

After an injury, John Register became a two-sport Paralympian

After having his left leg amputated following a devastating injury in practice, John Register became a Paralympic swimmer, sprinter and long jumper.

Eddie Tolan became the first Black athlete to win two Olympic gold medals

Although not the prototypical sprinter, Eddie Tolan almost always finished where sprinters wanted to be: first.

Ashleigh Johnson: first Black athlete to make U.S. Olympic Women’s Water Polo Team

A trailblazer in her sport, Ashleigh Johnson helped Team USA win the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

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.

As a basketball player and coach, Junius Kellogg made a lasting mark

The first Black basketball player at Manhattan College, Kellogg famously exposed a point-shaving scandal. He later became a wheelchair basketball coach.

Bobsledder Vonetta Flowers: first Black athlete to win Olympic Winter gold

Vonetta Flowers paired with Jill Bakken to win the gold medal in bobsledding at Salt Lake 2002 – the first Olympic Winter gold medal ever won by a Black athlete.

Ibtihaj Muhammad becomes the first Muslim American woman to win Olympic medal

Fencing provided an opportunity to compete in sports and adhere to the tenets of her religion.