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Posts published in “Sports”

Serena Williams Wins U.S. Open Championship

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2012

Serena Williams

Serena Williams reacts while playing Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the championship match at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in New York.
NEW YORK — Given all of the setbacks Serena Williams shrugged aside over the years – on tennis courts and, more daunting, away from them – she probably shouldn’t have been worried when she stood two points from losing the U.S. Open final.
And yet, she explained afterward, “I really was preparing my runner-up speech.”
No need for that. When the going gets toughest, Williams tends to shine.
Finally tested, and even trailing, at Flushing Meadows, Williams suddenly found her composure and her strokes, winning the last four games for a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory over top-ranked Victoria Azarenka on Sunday night, collecting a fourth U.S. Open championship and 15th Grand Slam title overall.

Double-Amputee Powerlifter ‘Pumps’ Ahead For 2016 Paralympics

By goodblacknews on September 7, 2012

Rohan Murphy, Double Amputee Powerlifter, Lifts For 2016 ParalympicsRohan Murphy has been defying the odds ever since losing his legs, at age 4, due to a birth defect. While a disability like Murphy’s would be hard to overcome for most, the 28-year-old New York resident has found a way to achieve amazing athletic feats and now has his eyes on Paralympic gold.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on August 23, 2012

“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
–Muhammad Ali, world heavyweight boxing champion, activist and icon

Jay-Z’s Influence On The Nets Eclipses His Ownership Stake – NYTimes.com

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2012

When the developer Bruce Ratner set out to buy the New Jersey Nets and build an arena for them in Brooklyn, he recruited Jay-Z, the hip-hop superstar who grew up in public housing a couple of miles from the site, to join his group of investors.
Mr. Ratner may have thought he was getting little more than a limited partner with a boldface name and a youthful following that could prove useful someday. But Jay-Z’s contributions have dwarfed the $1 million he invested nine years ago. His influence on the project has been wildly disproportionate to his ownership stake — a scant one-fifteenth of one percent of the team. And so is the money he stands to make from it.

Ugandans Celebrate First Olympic Gold Medal In 40 Years

By goodblacknews on August 15, 2012

Ugandan Olympic Gold medallist marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich, holding the Ugandan flag centre accompanied by Education and Sports Minister Jessica Alupo, centre left, inspect a guard of honor, at Entebbe International Airport 42 kms from the capital Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday Aug. 15, 2012. Kiprotich’s win has been deeply felt in Uganda, which had not won gold since the Munich Games in 1972. Lawmakers are considering a motion that declares Kiprotich a national hero, his employer has promised to promote him at work. (AP Photo/ Stephen Wandera)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s only medal winner at the London Olympics cried tears of joy as hundreds of people welcomed him home on Wednesday with celebrations of music and dance in honor of the African nation’s first gold since the 1972 games in Munich.

Claressa Shields Wins First-Ever Gold Medal For U.S. Women’s Olympic Boxing

By goodblacknews on August 10, 2012

LONDON  — U.S. middleweight Claressa Shields won the Olympic gold medal Thursday, capping her swift rise to the top of women’s boxing with a 19-12 victory over Russia’s Nadezda Torlopova.
The 17-year-old Shields shuffled, danced and slugged her way past her 33-year-old opponent, showing off the free-spirited style and brute strength that made her unbeatable at the London Games.
Shields even stuck her tongue out at Torlopova after ducking a few punches in the final round.
The teenager won the 12-member American team’s only gold medal in London. The winningest nation in Olympic boxing history got no medals from its men’s team for the first time, and flyweight Marlen Esparza won a bronze.
Shields has been on the international boxing scene for less than two years, but the Flint, Mich., native is among its fastest-rising stars. She lost early in the world championships, yet still qualified for the Olympics.
via Claressa Shields Boxing | Breaking News for Black America.

Brittney Reese Wins Gold In Long Jump For Hometown Gulfport

By goodblacknews on August 10, 2012

Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated her hometown, Brittney Reese hoped to give Gulfport, Miss., a medal in the Beijing Games.
She came up short, and was crushed.
“When I placed fifth, I was devastated and cried the whole way back to the (athletes) village,” she said. “I had the whole Gulf Coast behind me … I wanted to come out there and do that for them.”
She delivered four years later with a long-awaited gold medal in the long jump. She repeatedly recalled the struggles her family had been through after Katrina, which produced rains that collapsed the roof on her home and displaced the family for several months.
“We had mold and we were living out of mobile homes and trailers,” she said. “It was a tough time and unless you realize how blessed you are to have neccessities — we didn’t have hot water, and it was hot and we didn’t have air conditioning. It was a real true eye-opener and my city is now rebuilt and we have most of the stuff back.
“But we don’t have a lot of the homes back. This was a great way for me to bring something home to them to show that we can all do this together.”
via Brittney Reese wins gold for hometown Gulfport | theGrio.

Kenyan Woman Could Become First Black African Woman To Scale Mt. Everest

By goodblacknews on August 10, 2012

Jezebel.com reports that Helen Kinuthia will attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest with a charity climbing expedition in 2014. Kinuthia who is from Kenya was selected from a pool of 150 climbers after she successfully completed an audition climb on Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second-tallest mountain. The climbers will attempt to scale Everest as part of Expedition Everest a charity that organized the climb to raise  $500,000 for the Flying Kites Leadership Academy in Njambini, Kenya. The group seeks to raise the standards of care available to children in Africa, giving them the tools they will need to succeed. Currently, Expedition Everest is building the Flying Kites Leadership Academy, a home and school for abandoned, abused and orphaned children.
via Kenyan woman could become the 1st black African woman to scale Mt. Everest | theGrio.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2012

“They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most.”
–Floyd Patterson, the youngest boxer to win the world heavyweight title, and the first heavyweight to regain the title.

Allyson Felix Takes Olympic Gold in 200 Meter Sprint

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2012

LONDON (AP) — Allyson Felix finally won an individual Olympic gold medal, gliding home with her effortless stride to take the 200 meters and end the stranglehold of Veronica Campbell-Brown on the event.