Winter Olympics: Bobsleigh provides platform for black women to inspire
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| Winter Olympics: Bobsleigh provides platform for black women to inspire |
Winter Olympics: Bobsleigh provides platform for black women to inspire
In 2002 at Salt Lake town, seventy eight years once the primary Winter Olympics happened, yankee Vonetta Flowers achieved one thing that had ne'er been done before.
Flowers, aboard Jill Bakken within the two-woman bobsleigh, became the primary black contestant to win a palm at the Winter Games.
Sixteen years later at Pyeongchang, and it's within the bobsleigh wherever black athletes area unit once more setting new benchmarks and proving to be role models.
The Nigerian combine of Seun Adigun and Akuoma Omeoga might are the slowest of all twenty sleds within the event, however they became the primary ladies to represent AN country within the sport.
"It was equally as special as we have a tendency to hoped it might be," Adigun told BBC Sport.
"With longer and a lot of preparation and funding i feel we're proving that we will be as competitive as everybody else."
'It goes to open doors'
Former world champion Nicola Minichiello says competitive at a primary Games was ne'er concerning winning a award for African country, however the many step taken by AN country.
"It goes to open doors, it's aiming to offer opportunities for people that maybe before did not assume it had been a break," the three-time British Olympian told BBC Sport.
"You do not would like a bobsleigh track to require half in bobsleigh. The likes of Jamaica, Nigeria, any team extremely, will get entangled and participate.
"That's not aiming to happen while not these role models, while not these people that seem like them, sound like them, area unit from constant places as them having the ability to require half - it evokes teens to assume 'that might be me'."
Jamaica's ladies 'breaking barriers'
'We're all goofballs' - meet the primary African bobsleigh team at a Winter Olympics
The first look at a Winter Olympics by Jamaica restroom bobsleigh team in 1988 might have impressed hit motion-picture show Cool Runnings, however the women's debut has thrown up enough drama for a possible sequel.
Their participation was below threat once the departure of coach Sandra Kiriasis, however they eventually competed in an exceedingly sled given by brew producers Red Stripe.
They were eighteenth once 2 runs, eventually finishing the event nineteenth, however pilot Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian aforesaid the expertise is concerning "breaking barriers".
"I grasp there is things to boost - runs can ne'er be consistent," she told BBC 2. "I grasp there's a much bigger image out there.
"I am hoping to create upon it within the future. that is why barriers area unit there to be broken."
'I got most love from African-Americans'
Aja Evans
Aja Evans won a medal at Sochi four years past
Flowers might became the primary black contestant to win a Winter Olympics palm in 2002, however the USA team at the 2018 games continues to be preponderantly created from white athletes.
Apart from in bobsleigh, that is, wherever solely 2 of the 9 athletes in rivalry to form the women's squad for Pyeongchang were white.
The yankee sleds sit second and fourth heading into Wednesday's final runs, and each feature black athletes.
Brakewoman Aja Evans earned bronze in Sochi four years past, however is aware of representing the yankee team as a Black is concerning rather more than creating stage.
"I positively want I've taken on a lot of of a job model case simply from following these Winter Olympic Games and my career in bobsled," the 29-year-old told folks.
The Chicago-born contestant was a five-time All-American athlete for the University of Illinois before seizing bobsleigh.
"My mammy has tidy American state to simply be a robust girl regardless," she else. "So no matter I went for I reasonably went at it full-force and needed to dominate and perform well.
"When it came to bobsled, I simply went in with constant mentality that I went into everything else.
"I terminated up obtaining a lot of|such a lot|most} love and feedback from African-American men and ladies across the globe and the way much I impressed them through my journey."