In my continuing series 'African-American Olympic first', this post highlights one of my favorite Olympians, the ever elegant Dominique Dawes. In the summer of 1996, I was living in Perth, Western Australia. These were the Atlanta Olympics which, at the time, were much for famous for the 'Olympic Park Bomb' than anything else. Ms. Dawes, as a black gymnast, really stood out because I didn't see (and really wasn't looking for) any other black folk in gymnastic competition. The 1996 Women's Olympic Team in gymnastics was nicknamed the 'Magnificent 7' in honor of their improbable Team Gold Medal win against very long odds.
I am not going to sit here and write that Dominique Dawes was MY FAVORITE athlete in those games because that title belongs to her teammate, one Ms. Kerry Strug! Ms. Strug was the American Gymnast who made that famous vault on an injured ankle, stuck the landing, and injured her ankle even more. Afterwards, she was carried around the stadium by her coach.(Please click on link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSacT1iHi4
Listed here are some of Ms. Dawes' accomplishments as an African American Gymnasts
- 2008 inductee into the USOC Hall of Fame – Dawes was inducted along with her teammates on the “Magnificent Seven” group that won gold in 1996
-First African-American female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics (1992) prior to selection committee; first African-American female gymnast to win an individual medal (1996)
-1996 Olympic Gold medalist with U.S. team in Atlanta
-1996 Olympic Bronze medalist (individual) in floor exercise in Atlanta
-1992 Olympic Bronze medalist with U.S. team in Barcelona
2000 qualifier for the Sydney Olympics
1993 Silver medalist (individual) in uneven bars and balance beam at World Championships
1994 National All Around Champion 1st V, B, BB, FX
1994 Silver medalist with U.S. team at World Championships
1996 Bronze medalist (individual) in floor exercise at World Championships
A few writers have referred to these female athletes as 'Pixies' in reference to the nice, soft, miniature, wand waving fictional characters that appear in fairy tales. Are you kidding me? Out side of female gymnast being of short stature, this comparison is way off base! These women are the polar opposites in that they are hyper-competitive, strong as steel, tough as nails, and they don't have a magic wand to wave around to make something they want happen, they work for years to get there!
In closing, I know that someday Ms. Dawes, her publicist or whomever has been charged with making sure her image is kept to a high standard will run across this blog. Please tell Ms. Dawes, for me "Thanks for not sitting around and waiting for someone else to be the first black to obtain such accomplishment, thanks for believing that anything is possible especially because it hasn't been done before, and much thanks to her parents that obviously didn't believe that black folk shouldn't try something new."
Post a Comment 40 comments:
You know - not to take away from Dawes' "magnificent" accomplishments - but your post somewhat overstates Dominique's "pioneer" status as far as being an elite African American gymnast. After the 1996 Olympics, Dawes became the most well-known, well-accomplished African American female gymnast - but she was far from the first. Several other black U.S. National team members competed before Dawes - and to give all of the credit to Dawes for "trying something new" slights these other African Americans. A few of these gymnasts had a chance to be just as well-known, or as successful - as Dawes. But because of boycotts, untimely injuries, politics - they didn't quite get a chance to fulfill their ultimate dream.
Did you know that African American gymnasts made both the men's Olympic team and the women's Olympic team in 1980? That's right - Ron Galimore and Luci Collins were both on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team in 1980. But President Carter and the boycott stole what they had worked so hard for and relegated them to "forgotten" status - despite their incredible, pioneering accomplishments. These gymnasts were more groundbreaking than Dawes was - but, thanks to unfortunate timing and circumstances, few people realize they existed.
Remember Dianne Durham? She was an African American gymnast who was actually Bela Karolyi's first American elite gymnast (no, it wasn't Mary Lou Retton). She won the U.S. Junior National Championships in 1981 and 1982 - and won the U.S. Senior National Championships in 1983 (where Mary Lou Retton placed 3rd). To this day, many consider Dianne to be a better gymnast than Mary Lou - but thanks to a strange confluence of injury, "rules", and politics - Durham was kept off the 1984 Olympic team. It's a shame that she is forgotten and obscure - because it was she, along with Luci Collins and Ron Galimore (and others) who really paved the way for Dawes. Durham won the U.S. Nationals eleven years before Dawes did, for goodness sakes.
Here are some other notable black American gymnasts who notably competed for the U.S. National team before Dawes hit the scene:
Charles Lakes (cool, exciting gymnast who was on the 1988 U.S. mens's Olympic team)
Kim Hamilton (now Kim Anthony - tall, elegant gymnast who now, among other accomplishments, has a blog on the Internet somewhere. I heard that she is working on a book...)
Dee Dee Foster (now Dee Foster-Theriault) - very talented, a real case of "what could have been". She, like Kim Hamilton, had a lot of success in collegiate gymnastics after their time on the U.S. National team.
Corrine Wright
Angie Denkins
Joyce Wilborn (had effortless-looking vaulting and tumbling - got as much power on her full-twisting Tsukahara as most people got on their full-twisting Yurchenkos)
Stacey Gunthorpe
Curtis Holdsworth
Angina Simpkins
Stephanie Woods
And I'm sure I'm forgetting a few...
Also, in 1996 - there were two black men on the U.S. Olympic team - Jair Lynch (who was also on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team), and Chainey Umphrey. Since these men are older than Dawes - they, too - were competing on the U.S. national/international scene before Dawes.
I'm not denying that Dawes broke a lot of new ground as an African American female gymnast - but she's not as much of a pioneer as many people think she is. At the time of Dawes' "shining moment", Black gymnasts weren't really anything "new".
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