Black Olympians to watch during the Winter Games

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February 11, 2022

By Pa-Zong Bina Lee, The Grio

Seven Black athletes will compete in Beijing in two sports. Among the ranks is a personal trainer, medaled Olympians, a weightlifter, and a college track competitor.

As the 2022 Winter Olympics continue, we have to pay homage to the phenomenal Black Olympians representing Team USA. This year they will compete in two sports: bobsled and speed skating.

The US Women Bobsled team has won medals in every Olympic game since the event’s debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This year’s team is bringing the heat with new and returning Olympians.

Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaysha Love of Team USA, pictured in Winterberg, Germany.(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Elana Meyers Taylor is competing for the fourth time as an Olympian. Taylor has won silver medals in 2014 and 2018, as well as a bronze medal in 2010. New Olympians Kaysha Love and Sylvia Hoffman have joined the bobsled team this year and are forces deserving recognition.

Hoffman is a pro-lifter and former basketball player on the women’s team for the University of Louisiana, Shreveport. Love is a sprinter for the University of Nevada, Las Vergas’ track team. Aja Evans, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 2014, is a standing alternate for the team.

Hakeem Abdul-Saboor also is a new Olympian after being noticed by the men’s bobsled team. When his dreams of playing for the NFL fell through due to an injury, he became a personal trainer. What got him noticed? A viral workout video.

Read the full article to discover more black athletes who will compete in the Winter Olympics.

Click here to discover the complicated relationship some athletes have with their black identity.

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