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Posts tagged as “Olympic Gold Medalist”

Celebrating NBA Champion Kobe Bryant and His Wisdom on Work Ethics (LISTEN)

Celebrating NBA Champion Kobe Bryant and His Wisdom on Work Ethics (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today, GBN celebrates the accomplishments and legacy of NBA champion, Olympic Gold medalist, Academy Award winner and philanthropist Kobe Bryant. To read about Bryant, read on. To hear about him and some of his wise words, press PLAY:

[You can subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or listen every day here on the main page. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, April 18th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Dear Basketball, thank you for five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold medalist, NBA MVP, Academy Award winner, career Los Angeles Laker, shooting guard, multilingual philanthropist, author, husband and father –the one and only “Black Mamba” — Kobe Bean Bryant.

He lives on through his countless fans, three daughters, and his wife Vanessa, whom he married on this day in 2001. Though it is still hard to believe that such a legend was taken from us so soon, his impact will never be forgotten.To learn more about Kobe Bryant, read 2018’s The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, 2022’s The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality by Mike Sielski. Watch the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse, now streaming on Showtime, the 2019 All the Smoke video podcast episode featuring one of his final interviews, also currently on Showtime.

https://youtu.be/98wR6-r2bbI

Check out Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel‘s retrospective on Kobe Bryant from 2020, which you can watch on Facebook. And, of course watch the Oscar-winning short, Dear Basketball. You can also listen to Kobe Bryant’s family-oriented podcast The Punies about a group of friends who play sports, have adventures and learn valuable life lessons along the way.

There’s also a few podcasts dedicated to collecting and sharing Kobe Bryant’s various interviews, which you can find through listennotes.com. Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

In fact, we’ll leave you with a clip from one of the Kobe Bryant Getting Interviewed podcasts where Bryant speaks about his life as a student of the sport he loved and his work ethic:

Kobe: Everything was done to try to learn how to become a better basketball player, everything, everything. And so when you have that point of view, then literally, the world becomes your library to help you to become better at your craft.

Interviewer: So, because you know what you want, the world’s giving you exactly the information?

Kobe: One hundred percent. Because you know what you’re looking for.

Interviewer: So many guys tell stories about your work ethic? What was really your work ethic like and for how long did you stay disciplined?

Kobe: Well, I mean, I mean, every day, I mean, since 20 years, it was an everyday process and trying to figure out strengths and weaknesses. For example, jumping ability, my vertical was a 40 wasn’t a 46 or a 45. My hands are big, but they’re not massive. So, you’ve got to figure out ways to strengthen them so your hands are strong enough to be able to palm a ball and do the things that you need to do. Quickness… I was quick, but not insanely quick. I was fast, but not ridiculously fast. Right? So, I had to rely on skill a lot more. I had to rely on angles a lot more. I had to study the game a lot more. But I enjoyed it though. So, like from the time I was… I can remember when I started watching the game. I studied the game and it just never changed.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by yours truly, Lori Lakin Hutcherson. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(amazon links are paid links)

GBN’s Daily Drop: Black Ukrainians – Learn About Eurovision Finalist Gaitana and Politician & Olympic Gold Medalist Zhan Belenuik (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop: Black Ukrainians – Learn About Eurovision Finalist Gaitana and Politician & Olympic Gold Medalist Zhan Belenuik (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is a bonus episode for Saturday, February 26, 2022, based on the   “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 format.

We highlight singer/songrwriter Gaitana and athlete-turned-politician Zhan Belenuik, two Black Ukrainians or Afro Ukrainians who represent a small but important part of the Ukrainian citizenry affected by the recent Russian invasion of that nation.

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, February 26th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” format, published by Workman Publishing.

As the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces dominates global news, I’d like to dedicate this week’s bonus daily drop to the small but very real population of Afro-Ukrainians who are part of the citizenry that is struggling to survive as a nation.

Two Afro-Ukrainians with prominent international profiles are singer/ songwriter Gaitana, and politician and athlete Zhan Belenuik.

Gaitana made history when she represented Ukraine in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest and performed the song “Be My Guest,” placing 15th in the final.

Gaitana has a lovely, soulful voice and you can learn more about her and her music, sung mostly in her native tongue, on her website, gaitana.com, and you can stream her songs on Apple Music and Spotify.

Zhan Belenuik also made history in Ukraine with his 2019 election to Parliament as a member of President Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. In addition to being a former member of the Ukrainian Army, Belenuik has also represented Ukraine as a Greco Roman wrestler.

Belenuik competed and won the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and brought home the gold from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Gaitana and Belenuik both have spoken about facing racism in their home country, but also embrace their and support their homeland.

I’d also like to shout out The Root reporter Terrell Jermaine Starr, who has reported about the history of Blacks in Ukraine, about Ukraine in general, hosts a podcast called Black Diplomats, and is currently in Ukraine reporting for CNN on the war as well as posting about it on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/terrelljstarr/status/1497435803135488006

To learn more about Belenuik, Gaitana and other Afro Ukrainians, check out the links to sources provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a bonus daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com,Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodbinlacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

Erin Jackson Makes History by Winning Gold in 500m Individual Speedskating Final at Beijing Olympics

Erin Jackson Makes History by Winning Gold in 500m Individual Speedskating Final at Beijing Olympics

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2022

U.S. speedskater and World Cup Champion Erin Jackson claimed a gold medal today in the 500-meter individual speed skating final at the Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in any Winter Olympics.

Jackson, 29, is a former inline skater who made the US team for the 2018 Olympics after only four months on the ice. Jackson’s win also marked the United States’ first gold in the 500m since Bonnie Blair won three straight from 1988 through 1994.

“Hopefully, this has an effect,” Jackson said. “Hopefully, we’ll see more minorities, especially in the USA, getting out and trying these winter sports. I just hope to be a good example.”

The Ocala, FL native finished 0.08 seconds ahead of Japan’s Miho Takagi in second and 0.17 seconds ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee’s Angelina Golikova in third.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/13/usas-erin-jackson-speedskating-500m-gold-winter-olympics-2022-beijing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/13/sport/erin-jackson-500m-speed-skating-winter-olympics-gold-medal-spt-intl/index.html

WNBA Champion and All-Star Candace Parker to be 1st Woman on Cover of NBA 2K Game

WNBA Champion and All-Star Candace Parker to be 1st Woman on Cover of NBA 2K Game

By goodblacknews on July 15, 2021

WNBA powerhouse Candace Parker will be on the cover of NBA 2K22 in honor of the WNBA’s 25th anniversary as a pro league. This makes the Chicago Sky star the first woman player to take center stage on the latest edition popular NBA2K video game series.

“I grew up a video game fanatic, that’s what I did, to the point where my brothers would give me the fake controller when I was younger where I think I was playing and I wasn’t,” Parker said. “All I wanted to do was just be like them. As a kid growing up, you dream of having your own shoe and dream of being in a video game. Those are an athlete as a kid’s dreams. To be able to experience that, I don’t take it lightly.”

https://twitter.com/Candace_Parker/status/1415311818071756806

Parker has been a national presence in the sport since college, where she lead Tennessee to back-to-back national championships (2007 and 2008).

In 2016, Parker helped the Los Angeles Sparks win their first WNBA championship since 2002. Parker has also won two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2008, 2013), a WNBA Finals MVP Award (2016), a WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award (2013) and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2008). She has been selected to six All-WNBA teams and five All-Star teams.

NBA 2K22 will be released on Sept. 10.

Read more: https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/31816516/chicago-sky-candace-parker-first-woman-cover-nba-2k-game

https://thegrio.com/2021/07/14/candace-parker-first-woman-cover-nba-2k/

R.I.P. Rafer Johnson, 86, Gold Medalist in the 1960 Olympic Decathlon

R.I.P. Rafer Johnson, 86, Gold Medalist in the 1960 Olympic Decathlon

By goodblacknews on December 2, 2020

According to nytimes.com, American athlete Rafer Johnson, who carried the United States flag into Rome’s Olympic Stadium in August 1960 as the first Black captain of a U.S. Olympic team and went on to win gold in the decathlon bringing him acclaim as the world’s greatest all-around athlete, died today at his home in Los Angeles, CA. He was 86.

To quote from The New York Times:

Johnson never competed after that decathlon triumph. He became a good-will ambassador for the United States and a close associate of the Kennedy family, taking a leadership role in the Special Olympics, which were championed by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and joining Robert F. Kennedy’s entourage during Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968. He was remembered especially for helping to wrestle the senator’s assassin to the ground in Los Angeles in 1968.

Johnson’s national profile was largely molded at the 1960 Olympics, one of the most celebrated in the history of the Games, a moment when a host of African-American athletes burst triumphantly onto the world stage.

Muhammad Ali, known then as Cassius Clay, captured boxing gold in the light-heavyweight division. Wilma Rudolph swept to victory in the women’s 100- and 200-meter dashes and combined with her Tennessee State teammates for gold in the 4 x 100 relay. Oscar Robertson helped take the United States basketball team to a gold medal.

Johnson is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Thorsen, brother Jimmy Johnson, a former San Francisco 49er and Pro Football Hall of Famer; two children, Jennifer Johnson Jordan, who was a member of the U.S. women’s beach volleyball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is now a volleyball coach at U.C.L.A., and Josh Johnson; and four grandchildren.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/sports/olympics/rafer-johnson-dead.html

Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Manuel Helps to Provide Free Swim Lessons for Every Student at LeBron James’ I Promise School

Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Manuel Helps to Provide Free Swim Lessons for Every Student at LeBron James’ I Promise School

By goodblacknews on March 10, 2019

GBN just learned from becauseofthemwecan.com about Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Simone Manuel‘s recent visit to LeBron James‘ “I Promise” school in Akron, OH.

We are happy to report that as an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation, Manuel did not just talk the talk, but plans to swim the swim! She is helping provide free swim lessons to every student at I Promise during a week-long camp in June of this year.

To read more details, go to swimswam.com.

Team USA Long Jumper Tianna Bartoletta Medals at Worlds Despite Being Homeless for Three Months

By goodblacknews on August 19, 2017


by Marissa Payne via washingtonpost.com
Tears streamed down the face of Team USA’s Tianna Bartoletta as she collected her bronze medal in the long jump during the final days of the IAAF world championships last weekend. Having previously won gold in the event at worlds twice before, and being the reigning Olympic gold medalist at the long jump, Bartoletta has had better finishes, but she wasn’t crying sad tears. Her tears came from relief — that she could persevere and even succeed through even the darkest of times.
“[Y]ou may find it hard to believe but this Bronze medal is THE most special medal I have ever won,” the 31-year-old wrote on Instagram after collecting her hardware. “Because just three short months ago I had to run away from my own home, I had to decide which of ALL my belongings were the most important, I had to leave my dogs, I had little money, I still have no actual address, all to give myself a chance at having a life and the love I deserved — one that didn’t involve fear or fighting, threats, and abuse.”
Bartoletta shocked her fans, revealing that she’s been homeless for three months, while she escaped what she has alleged was an abusive marriage to her husband of five years John Bartoletta. (For his part, John Bartoletta has characterized the couple’s divorce as “amicable,” per the BBC.) “I took a huge gamble blowing my life up in such an important year for me career-wise. But it was about time for me to see that I was worth it,” she continued. “It was worth it. Thanks so much for riding with me.”


Not having a permanent address, however, was just one of the many obstacles Bartoletta had to overcome on her way to Worlds. On Wednesday, she opened up to the BBC about the effect her relationship had on her mental health. “I lost my personality,” she said. “I felt like I became a stranger to myself almost.” Bartoletta said she even thought about suicide. “It got so dark that I was contemplated walking off a train platform in front of a train in Europe last season because it just started to feel like I had no way out, no way out of the feelings of frustration and shame,” she said. “It was just so tempting to call it quits.”
Bartoletta told the BBC it took her a while to open up to people about how she was feeling, including family, but doing so put her on the path to feeling better.“This has been my therapy — sharing this story with you, sharing the Instagram post, blogging,” she said. “It has kind of been my way of healing.” Now she hopes to inspire others who might also be struggling. “The most important thing is you’re not alone,” she said. “[Depression] is a very difficult situation, it’s complex, it’s confusing and hard for a lot of people who aren’t in it to understand, but … I understand.”
To read more, go to: Team USA’s Tianna Bartoletta medals at worlds despite being homeless for three months – The Washington Post

Dalilah Muhammad Makes U.S. History With 400-Meter Hurdles Gold Medal Win

By goodblacknews on August 19, 2016

Team USA Delilah Muhammad, Olympic Gold Medalist in the 400-M hurdles. (photo via bet.com)

article via bet.com
Everywhere you look in these Rio Games, there’s #BlackGirlMagic making Olympic history.
Count Dalilah Muhammad as the latest.
On Thursday night, the 26-year-old New York City native became the first American in Olympic history to win a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.13 seconds.Her teammate, Ashley Spencer, won the bronze medal with a time of 53.72 seconds.


Winning the gold medal is one thing. Making history while doing it took the accomplishment to another level for Muhammad.
To read more, go to: #BlackGirlMagic: Watch Dalilah Muhammad Make History With Her 400-Meter Hurdles Gold Medal Win | Dalilah Muhammad | Sports | BET

U.S. Gymnastics Sensation Simone Biles Soars to Fourth Gold Medal in Rio Olympics

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2016

Simone Biles nailed her signature move, The Biles, to win the gold medal in the floor exercise. (Credit: Dmitri Lovetsky/Associated Press)

article by Victor Mather and Lela Moore via nytimes.com
RIO DE JANEIRO — For anyone who doubted her after a subpar performance on the balance beam, Simone Biles sent an emphatic message on Tuesday: She is unbeatable in the floor exercise.

Biles bounced back from a bronze medal performance on the beam to dominate the floor, completing her Rio Olympics with four gold medals and the bronze. She is the fourth American female gymnast to win five medals in a single Olympics, joining Mary Lou Retton (1984), Shannon Miller (1992) and Nastia Liukin (2008).

Biles scored a 15.966 in the floor, considered her best event.

Her signature floor move is the Biles, a double layout with a half-twist and a blind landing. She performed the move nearly perfectly, adding a stag leap, which she had left out of her performance in the team event but included in the individual all-around.

Her score dwarfed those of her competitors. Her teammate Aly Raisman won the silver medal with a routine slightly less difficult than Biles’s, sticking every landing on every tumbling pass. The bronze medal went to Amy Tinkler, the first female gymnast from Britain to compete in a floor final.

Raisman earned her sixth Olympic medal and her third at these Games. She won the team gold and the silver in the individual all-around, behind Biles, who also won the vault.

Tuesday’s victory put Biles in an exclusive club. Just three female gymnasts before her — Ecaterina Szabo of Romania (1984), Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union (1956) — had also won four gold medals in one Olympics.

To read full article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/sports/olympics/rio-schedule-simone-biles-results.html

Jamaica's Usain Bolt Wins 3rd Consecutive 100M Olympic Gold in Rio

By goodblacknews on August 14, 2016

Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins 3rd consecutive Gold Medal in men's 100M race (photo via usatoday.com)
Usain Bolt of Jamaica (l) wins 3rd consecutive Olympic Gold Medal in men’s 100M race (photo via usatoday.com)

article by Sean Gregory via time.com
On a pleasant Sunday night in Rio’s Olympic Stadium, Usain Bolt, the fastest human in history, became the first to ever win the 100-m sprint in three straight Olympic Games, finishing with a time of 9.81. Justin Gatlin of the United States, the 2004 Olympic champion, took an early lead but fell just short of completing his late-career comeback with another Olympic gold, taking silver with a time of 9.89. Canada’s Andre de Grasse won bronze in 9.91.
Even though he’s run the fastest 100-m in history––9.58 seconds, at the 2009 world championships––Bolt insists this is his weakest event. He has a funny way of showing it. “This is what I came here for,” Bolt said after the race. “This is the first step in the right direction. I’m happy and I’m proud of myself. It wasn’t perfect execution, but I got it done.”
The 100M, known as the fastest ten seconds in sports, was relatively slow by Bolt’s lofty standards. In 2012, the American Tyson Gay ran 9.80 and only managed to finish fourth. Bolt blamed the times on the quicker than usual turnaround, less than 90 minutes, between the semifinals and finals. “It was really stupid,” Bolt says. “I don’t know who decided that. I was really stupid.”
Whatever the pace, Bolt luxuriated in his victory. Fans screamed for him before the race. During his warmup, while his opponents were lingering at the starting line, Bolt jogged out about 30 meters down the track, turned around and held his arms up, soaking in the adulation as if he were royalty. He shimmied for the cameras, pointed, tried his best to be a showman. The act works.
When the starting gun blasted, Bolt knew he was off his game. “I kind of felt dead at the start,” he said. Gatlin took an early lead, but Bolt never panicked and passed him shortly after the halfway mark. The win in hand, Bolt pounded his chest before the finish. He grabbed a stuffed Olympic mascot afterward and paraded it around the stadium, mugging for selfies with adoring fans. As is his tradition, he hammed it up on the track with his “lighting-bolt” poses.
Bolt has always performed best on the biggest stages. And none are bigger than the Olympics, where he’s now won 7 straight golds, in 7 races, over three Games. He’ll shoot to go an incredible nine-for-nine later in the week, with the 200-m final Thursday night, and the 4 X 100 relay on Friday. “I really want the 200-m world record,” says Bolt, who set the mark, 19.19 seconds, at that same 2009 world championship meet. “If I can get a good night’s rest after the semifinals, it’s possible that I could. I’m going to go out there and leave it all on the track.”
To read full article, go to: http://time.com/4451806/usain-bolt-gold-rio-2016-olympics-100-meters-gatlin-blake/