Get To Know These Women Olympians And The Iconic Shoulders They Stand On

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The Tokyo Olympics began July 23, after a one year delay due to a worldwide Pandemic brought on by the coronavirus. If anything, the delay could be seen as an opportunity to get in an extra year of practice and become great. You should already know MADAMENOIRE is “rooting for everybody Black.” This year’s summer Olympics are chock full of great Black athletic talent—particularly the women. 

Still, it may be hard to weed out those you want to cheer for, as the Olympics features 28 sports of the course of two weeks. Finding a single Black person let alone a woman might put folks to task. We laid out several Black women we’re rooting for today alongside their athletic counterparts of yesterday—women whose shoulders they stand on in their respective sport. 

Track and Field is one of the widest ranging sports represented in the Olympics. The sport breaks down into multiple disciplines: sprints, long jump, distance running and hurdles are just a few. Vashti Cunningham is looking to make her mark in the high jump while Alice Coachman has not only made her mark as a high jumper—she opened the door for Black women in the Olympics.

Vashti Cunningham 

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Vashti, daughter of former NFL Player Randall Cunningham, is making a name for herself — a name that stands apart from her father’s. Cunningham was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She graduated Bishop Gorman High School Class of 2016 and trained for the Olympic trials while a high schooler. Her relative inexperience and youth is a double-edged sword. 

While Cunningham was in peak shape she was not at peak maturity. Cunningham says as much in a recent interview with Well+Good:

“I was 18 when I went to the last Olympics and now I’m 23,” Cunningham said “And so I feel like a lot of it has been just growing and getting older and maturing.” 

She continued: “And getting a stronger relationship with God has been a big part of it for me because when I was young, I would just let things affect me and I wasn’t really super tapped in. But now that I’ve gotten older and understood how important it is, just giving it more of myself, I’ve seen the results.”

Cunningham is now tapped in and ready to take her performance to the next level. Her faith in God has become a large part of strength and motivation. Cunningham also credits her father — who is her coach — with helping her build strength and become better. 

Cunningham is the youngest Track and Field participant — since 1980 — to qualify for the Olympics in the high jump in 2016.  At 18-years-old, Cunningham went to the Rio Games and competed against veterans. Cunningham did not win medals that year but ranked 13th overall. 

Vashti’s brief performance in Rio, was only the beginning of her professional career, Since her appearance there Cunningham has been decorated with  one gold medal, one silver medal, and one bronze World Championship Medal since her last Olympic appearance.

She is now a contender for this year’s games in Tokyo. Cunningham set a personal record of 6 feet, 7.5 inches, in this year’s qualifications. Too, Cunningham has complete faith in her ability to win stating:

“I do plan on peaking at the Olympics.”

Alice Coachman 

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Alice Coachman is the first woman to earn an Olympic Gold Medal. She kicked open the door for Black women hurdlers, like Vashti Cunningham. Coachman was born in 1923 in Albany, Georgia. Coachman’s parents did not take much interest in her athletic abilities, nor did they lend much support. Living through the Great Depression and coming out on the other side may have influenced how they viewed recreational sports. Coachman was not deterred. She practiced without the benefit of training equipment. Coachman used her environment and everyday use items to create what she needed to train — such as the dirt roads she ran on with bare feet to practice her skill. She also used two sticks and a large rope to create a makeshift highjump. Coachman’s imaginative practice sessions paid off and she began to break high jump records while still in high school. 

Coachman attended Tuskegee University where she was a Basketball star as well as a Track and Field star. As a basketball player, Coachman led her college team to three championships. Coachmen not only competed, she broke records. Coachman is a multi-sport phenom winning national championships in the 4×100 meter relays, 50 meter and 100 meter sprints. 

Eventually, her success at the college level was recognized and Team USA realized that her recruitment could only enhance their chance of victory. They were right. In 1948, Coachman’s victory happened in London at  the 1948 Olympics. As an Black woman pre-Civil Rights Movement, Coachman reached the pinnacle of success when she set the Olympic high jump record of at 5 feet 6 1/8 inches. Coachman was the second Black woman to earn a medal in an Olympic event and the first woman to ever earn a Gold Medal in an Olympic event. 

Coachman continued breaking down barriers for Black women, she became the first to sign an endorsement deal with Coca-Cola. The world class athlete went from running on dirt roads and jumping with bare feet to being awarded a Gold medal by the King at the London Olympics. Ms. Coachman owned her achievements and contributions. In 1996, the pioneer told The New York Times:

“I made a difference among the blacks, being one of the leaders,” “If I had gone to the games and failed, there wouldn’t be anyone to follow in my footsteps.”

Tennis commands the attention of viewers around the world. The most notable name in Tennis is Serena Williams, but when it comes to the Olympics it is her older sister Venus who wears the crown. Coco Gauff is a relative newbie in the sport attempting to make her mark like many Black women before her.

Coco Gauff 

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Heavily inspired by the Williams sisters Coco Gauff made a slow but steady climb to the top. The official Wimbledon site lists Gauff as the first place singles winner in 2020. She was selected to represent the USA Olympic team in 2020. Unfortunately, at the time of this publication it was announced that Gauff’s Olympic dreams would be put on hold as she withdrew after contracting Covid – 19. As the youngest player to ever be selected for the US Tennis team, surely this will not be Gauff’s final chance at the gold.

Gauff’s exit does leave the U.S. at a disadvantage. Tennis great, and former American citizen-turned-expatriate, Naomi Osaka will represent Japan. Osaka, a Japanese and Black woman was chosen as the anchor — the athlete who lights the final torch and signals the beginning of the competition. The last active athlete to hold that honor was Cathy Freeman in Australia’s 2000 Olympics. 

Venus Williams

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You should already know but in case you don’t, here’s a quick review of the greatest. Venus Williams is the most decorated Tennis Olympian in its history. Venus holds five individual Olympic medals that she won consecutively between 2000 – 2016. 

On top of her four gold medals and a silver medal for individual wins, Williams along with her sister Serena, are the winningest doubles pair in Olympic history with a perfect 15-0 record, according to teamusa.org. At age 41, Williams is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In-between competing she also designs and operates an activewear brand Eleven by Venus Williams.

The Paralympics showcase the best of the best athletes with physical disabilities. These athletes show the true grit, grind and determination of athleticism. The 2021 Olympics Sitting Volleyball competition features an up and coming athlete to keep an eye out for. 

Nicky Nieves

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Nicky Nieves is on her second go ‘round in the Paralympics and hopes to duplicate her success in the Tokyo Olympics. Teamusa.org lists her first appearance in the Rio Olympics 2016. Though she participated with the likes of Kari Miller and contributed to a Gold Medal win for Team USA she is still relatively new to the sitting sport.  As a powerhouse in standing volleyball as a young athlete, Nieves has adjusted well. 

The Afro-Puerto Rican Olympian is aware of her influence and wants “to use [her] platform for representation to show others that even if you don’t see yourself within your team or within an organization, don’t let that hinder you from being the best that you can possibly be.” 

After spending most of her childhood in Queens, New York, Nieves’s mother relocated the family to Kissimmee, Florida, when she was 10 years old. As an adolescent Nieves was active in high school sports, played traditional volleyball and was eventually named Conference Player of the Year. Determined to continue playing volleyball once she graduated high school, Nieves sent game tapes to recruiters in an attempt to drum up interest in herself as a potential college athlete. She caught the eye of Queens College Division II coach Pascale Lubin. Nieves was offered a position to play for the women’s volleyball team at Queens College, where she caught the eye of Paralympic recruiters.

Nieves gives back to her community and has started Limitless People Inc, a non-profit organization that  teaches young adults sitting volleyball. For Nieves this initiative is a calling: “I feel the need and want to create a life where I can share with others what has blessed my life immensely, volleyball.”

Kari Miller 

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Kari Miller, a U.S. Sergeant Veteran, is also a veteran paralympic gold medalist in sitting volleyball. Miller has been active in wheelchair sports since the early 2000’s. She scored her first Olympic win in Beijing in 2008.

Miller grew up in Washington D.C. and was active in multiple sports, including basketball and track before she began a career in the U.S. Military. Miller worked hard in the U.S. Military rising quickly in the ranks. In 1999, while preparing for officer training Miller was struck in a car accident requiring the amputation of both legs one above the knee and one below. The accident ended Miller’s military career forcing her to seek other options for her future.

After rehabilitation, Miller’s fire for sports returned when “she lost [a wheel chair basketball game] to a group of children.” Her competitive nature kicked in and she vowed to master the sport. After learning and training in the sport, Miller began competing in wheelchair basketball at the University of illinois. She faced a disadvantage in the game because of her height, leading her to eventually switch to sitting volleyball. 

Miller has been winning ever since. Her medals are extensive, her performance has earned her medals in three separate Olympic competitions. Teamusa.org lists  Gold Medal Rio de Janeiro (2016), Silver Medal London  (2012) and Silver Medal Beijing Paralympic Games (2008).

Miller will join Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics playing the position of Libero. In 2010, Miller was ranked the number one Libero in the world. Miller spends her off time volunteering for the  Paralympic Military Program at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Miller knows that her experience as a veteran and athlete can prove useful to wounded veterans. 

Miller was awarded the Hero of Fortune award in 2014 recognizing her work with the Wounded Warriors Program.