It was an enjoyable two weeks of watching the Summer Olympics in London. I will be going through Olympics withdrawals for about a week so bear with me.
The Olympics were a true coming out party for our American women, who came away with a multitude of gold medals. American women won team golds in basketball, gymnastics, water polo, soccer and beach volleyball. They also took silver in indoor volleyball. The performance of the USA women on the track was truly off the chains.
I can not say enough about how our African-American women performed in London. Our sisters really put on a show and I enjoyed every minute of it. And they did it in many sports across the board.
Here is a sample of what our black women accomplished at the Olympics.
Let’s start with the teenagers. Gabby Douglas, 16, made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win the gold medal in the all-around competition in gymnastics. Douglas also became the first American woman in history to win gold in both the all-around and the team competition. “The Flying Squirrel” was a spectacular performer who dazzled the crowds on a regular basis.
Claressa Shields, 17, of Flint, MI, put on a show in winning America’s only gold medal in boxing. The wonderfully-talented Shields carried the banner of a downtrodden USA Boxing program by putting on one electrifying performance after another. She bobbed and weaved, danced and dominated the much older field with her hand speed and power. She was a show-stopper.
Lia Neal, 17, also made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win a medal in swimming. Neal was part of the USA’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team that won a bronze medal.
Serena Williams dominated the tennis competition by winning the gold medal in women’s singles. Serena then joined big sister Venus to win the gold medal in women’s doubles.
Nine members of the USA women’s basketball team were African-American, including Candace Parker, Tameka Catchings, Myia Moore, Swin Cash, Teena Charles, Asia Jones, Simone Augustus, Angel McCoughtry and Sylvia Fowles. The USA women won their record fifth consecutive gold medal in dominating fashion.
Former collegiate volleyball star Destinee Hooker was the top hitter of the USA women’s team that took silver in indoor volleyball. Fencer Maya Lawrence took home a bronze medal in the team competition.
And the track. Oh, the track. The USA women put on a show for the ages in raking in the medals. Their performance was almost on par to the 1968 men’s track team in Mexico City. Not quite as good as that super team, but very good.
Allyson Felix led the way with three gold medals as she won the 200-meter dash and ran legs on the USA’s gold-medal winning 4×100- and 4×400-meter relays. Sanya Richards-Ross won the gold medal in the 400-meter dash and anchored the 4×400 to a gold medal. The team of Ross, Felix, DeeDee Trotter and Francena McCrory dusted the competition by four seconds and came close to breaking to breaking a 24-year old world record.
The team of Caremelita Jeter, Bianca Knight, Tianna Madison and Felix won the 4×100 and set a new world record in the process. The sight of Jeter pointing her baton at the scoreboard as she crossed the finish line was priceless. Jeter also won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200.
Mississippi-native Brittney Reese won the gold medal in the long jump while teammate Janay DeLoach took the bronze. East St. Louis’ own Dawn Harper followed up her gold medal in 2008 with a silver medal last week in the 100-meter hurdles. Teammate Kellie Wells finished third to win the bronze medal. LaShinda Demus took silver in the 400-meter hurdles while Trotter won a bronze in the 400. Collegiate star Brigetta Barrett won a silver medal in the high jump.
Overlooked winners
In last week’s American, I listed the medal winners from the recent AAU Junior Olympics in Houston. I missed a few. Here are a few more winners.
Corey Hunn, Jr. of the St. Louis Storm finished first in the shot put in the boys Sub-Bantam division. Corey is now a two-time national champion.
Nia Lyles of the Ultimate Speed Academy finished first in the girls shot put in the Midget division. James Hutchins of Ultimate Speed was eighth in the goys primary shot put while the Ultimate Speed’s 4×800-meter relay finished eighth in the girls midget division
