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Posts tagged as “Team USA”

Dr. Rene Shingles 1st African American Woman Inducted into National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame

By goodblacknews on July 18, 2018
Rene Shingles (Photo Courtesy of National Athletic Trainers’ Association)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Dr. René Revis Shingles made history this month when she became the first African American Woman inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association prestigious Hall of Fame – an honor that to date has been bestowed on only 317 of the association’s 45,000 members. Dr. Shingles – a long-time professor at Central Michigan University – became one of the first African American women to become certified as an athletic trainer in 1987.  The Hall of Fame is the highest honor an athletic trainer can receive and recognizes individuals who exemplify the mission of NATA through significant lasting contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided by athletic trainers.

“While I may be the first, my goal is to ensure that I am not the last. Being an athletic trainer is about providing the highest quality of care to our patients and a tireless dedication to learning, growing and serving. That is what has been bestowed to me by my mentors, and what I hope to continue to contribute to the generations that follow,” said Shingles.

At Central Michigan University, more than 650 students have graduated under her Shingle’s tutelage. She co-authored the first book on cultural competence in athletic training and is considered a national expert on diversity and inclusion in the profession. In 1987, Shingles became the thirteenth African American woman to become a certified athletic trainer. Over the years, she has volunteered in numerous capacities with NATA, the Board of Certification for athletic training and the NATA Research & Education Foundation. For more than 20 years, Shingles has volunteered on the medical staff for the Special Olympics Michigan State Summer Games. In 1996, she was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as an athletic trainer for the Olympic Games in Atlanta and marched in the opening ceremonies with Team USA.

Shingles is also a founding member of the NATA Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee (EDAC), established in 1991 as an advisory committee to the NATA board of directors, to identify and address issues relevant to the ethnically diverse populations as well as members of the profession. Shingles currently serves as a mentor both professional and personally to advance the next generation of athletic trainers. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

“We champion the outstanding contributions Dr. Shingles has made – and continues to make – to the profession of athletic training, as well as her commitment and passion for the profession,” says NATA President Tory Lindley, MA, ATC. “The NATA Hall of Fame recognizes the best among the best in our profession, and Dr. Shingles is truly deserving of this award,” said Lindley.

About NATA: National Athletic Trainers’ Association – Health Care for Life & Sport
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association represents and supports 45,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org.

Jordan Greenway Becomes 1st Black Athlete to Make U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2018

Team USA Hockey Team Member Jordan Greenway (Photo by Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)

by Bruce C.T. Wright via newsone.com
African-American athletes are displaying Black excellence on the ice. Nearly a month after it was announced that 17-year-old Maame Biney made history as the first Black woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic speedskating team, Jordan Greenway broke a similar racial barrier by becoming the first African-American man to be on Team USA’s hockey roster at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Korea, The Undefeated reported.
Greenway, 20, has had a standout athletic career at Boston University. He was selected in the 2015 NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild, but made the decision to stay in school and continue to pursue his degree. During the winter Olympic games—which are slated to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea next month—Greenway will be one of four college students who will play for the United States. It’s the first time in three decades that the USA men’s hockey team is comprised of college athletes, players from overseas and some retired athletes since the NHL didn’t send any of its players to compete in the Olympics.
Greenway—who hails from Canton, New York—said he was humbled by the honor and wanted to use his platform as an avenue to increase the racial representation in the sport and encourage Black youth to play hockey.
“I’ve been able to accomplish a lot of good things and just allowing a lot of African-American kids who are younger than me who see kind of what I’m doing, I hope that can be an inspiration for them,” he told the Undefeated. “Go out and do something different against the typical stereotypes that most African-Americans play basketball, or whatever the case is.” There are only 13 Division 1 players who are Black, according to The Undefeated.
Black athletes will be making historic moves during the next Winter Olympics. Prior to Greenway and Biney’s milestones, Nigeria’s women’s bobsled team became the first group of Africans to qualify for that category in the Olympics.
Source: https://newsone.com/3767720/2018-olympic-hockey-jordan-greenway-black-usa-african-american-member/

Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles to Carry Flag for Team USA in Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony

By goodblacknews on August 21, 2016

simone biles (on bar)
article via eurweb.com
In addition to her five gold medals, Simone Biles is now poised for another super Rio Olympics experience.  She’s been chosen as the Team USA flag bearer for closing ceremony on Sunday.
“It’s an incredible honor to be selected as the flag bearer by my Team USA teammates,” Biles said in a statement. “This experience has been the dream of a lifetime for me and my team and I consider it a privilege to represent my country, the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics by carrying our flag. I also wish to thank the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the entire country of Brazil, for hosting an incredible Games.”
This quite an honor for Miss Biles as she is only the second American gymnast to carry the flag in an opening or closing ceremony after Alfred Jochim in 1936.
Though it was largely expected given her dominance in the sport over the past three years, Biles’ competition here was a resounding success, reports USA Today Sports.

She led the Americans to a second consecutive team gold medal by an eye-popping eight points before winning the all-around title, gold medals on vault and floor exercise and bronze on balance beam.
Her five medals matches marks set by Nastia Liukin in 2008, Shannon Miller in 1992 and Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
Her success here only added to the consensus that she’s the best gymnast of her time and probably the best ever. None other than Bela and Martha Karolyi, Retton and Aimee Boorman, Biles’ longtime coach, think the case is clear.
Biles, 19, entered these Games as the three-time defending world all-around champion. Her 10 gold medals earned over that span is a record for any gymnast, and she has 14 total medals from world championship competition.

 
To read full article, go to: http://www.eurweb.com/2016/08/simone-biles-carry-us-flag-olympics-closing-ceremony-sunday/

100-Meter Hurdlers Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin Claim USA’s 1st-Ever Women’s Track & Field Olympic Sweep

By goodblacknews on August 18, 2016

(L-R) Bronze medalist Kristi Castlin, gold medalist Brianna Rollins and silver medalist Nia Ali react after the women’s 100-meter hurdles final on day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. (photo via teamusa.org)

article by Karen Rosen via teamusa.org
RIO DE JANEIRO – Sweep!  Team USA became the first nation in Olympic history to win all three medals in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Brianna Rollins won the gold, Nia Ali the silver and Kristi Castlin, with a furious finish, took the bronze Wednesday night.  “It’s like a sisterhood,” said Rollins, who trains with Castlin and has also known Ali for years.  “I’m so grateful and blessed that we were able to accomplish this together.”
And Team USA swept without world-record holder Keni Harrison, who did not make the U.S. team from a loaded field at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track and Field.
“You could pretty much equate us to a Dream Team,” Castlin said after the trials.
Following the race, the three Team USA athletes huddled on the track just past the finish line, waiting for the results: Rollins at 12.48 and Ali at 12.59 popped up quickly in the top two positions. There was a pause, then an outpouring of applause as Castlin came up next at 12.61.
“I knew I was in second, but I didn’t know what else happened,” Ali said. “So when we looked up at the screen, we were like, ‘Did we do it? Did we do it?’ and then we saw Kristi’s name come up, and it was like, ‘Yes!’”  “We all had a good feeling that it was going to be her.”
Castlin, known as a “closer,” came from as far back as seventh place to edged Cindy Ofili of Great Britain by .02 seconds.
“I really couldn’t breathe for one second,” Castlin said. “My thing was not so much a bronze for myself but really just upholding the team. We came into this together. Track and field, a lot of times athletes go into it as individuals. But we had a different perspective. We came into it as a team, for girl power, for USA. So we were able to do the first sweep in U.S. women’s history. It feels good to be a history-maker.”
The sweep was the 61st in U.S. Olympic track and field history going back to 1896, and the first in the sport since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, when Americans conquered the podium in the men’s 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles. It was also the first for Team USA on the women’s side in track and field.
To read full article, go to: http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/August/17/100-Meter-Hurdlers-Claim-Team-USAs-First-Ever-Womens-Track-And-Field-Olympic-Sweep

Daryl Homer Scores 1st Silver Medal for U.S. in Men's Saber since 1904

By goodblacknews on August 14, 2016

Daryl Homer celebrates victory over Matyas Szabo of Germany in the men’s individual saber quarterfinal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 3 on Aug. 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. (photo via teamusa.org)

article by Rebecca Harris via teamusa.org
RIO DE JANEIRO — As he was being chased down, nearly tripping off of the strip entirely, American saber fencer Daryl Homer somehow snuck his blade into German fencer Matyas Szabo’s ribs for a point during his quarterfinal bout. The point was heralded with chants of “U-S-A” from the audience, with the painted faces and bodies usually reserved for American football games, not for what could be called modern-day dueling.
Homer lost the gold-medal bout to Aron Szilagyi of Hungary, 15-8. He became the first U.S. medalist in men’s saber since Peter Westbrook won a bronze medal in 1984 and the first U.S. men’s silver medalist since William Grebe in 1904.
The U.S. has never won gold in men’s saber.“I wouldn’t have found an access point to fencing without Peter,” he said. Homer’s journey into fencing was a happy accident and he owes partial thanks to Westbrook. Homer came across the sport in a book one day. He took one look at the shiny masks and vests and told his mom he wanted to fence. She wasn’t a fan of the idea until she saw Westbrook in a TV commercial.  Westbrook actually gave Homer entrée into the sport through his Peter Westbrook Foundation, which teaches fencing to New York area kids of color.
To read more, go to: Daryl Homer Scores Team USA’s First Men’s Saber Silver Since 1904

U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team – AKA the 'Final Five' – Take Team Gold in Rio

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2016

U.S. Gymnasts (l-r) Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman take a bite out of team gold in Rio (photo via nbcolympics.com)

article by Julia Fincher via nbcolympics.com
If there was any question that the U.S. has the best women’s gymnastics team in the world, it was answered today for the fifth time.
With two consecutive Olympic golds and world championships titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015, the U.S. women have made a seemingly unbreakable habit of winning. And not just edging out their competitors by a few tenths, but leading the competition from start to finish and claiming victory by multiple points
Throughout the team final at the Rio Olympics, 2012 Olympians Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, along with first-time Olympians Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian, looked focused but confident, never faltering under the weight of the world’s or their expectations.
The other teams in the final gave their best efforts to make a run at the long-reigning queens of the sport, but nearly every team suffered a fall over the course of four events.
Not the U.S., who clocked 12 hit routines over the four events. They started with a nearly-stuck Amanar vault, the one made famous by McKayla Maroney in 2012, from Raisman. Next up was uneven bars, where Kocian and Douglas earned two of the highest uneven bars scores of the day. Hernandez, Raisman and Biles all scored over 15 points on balance beam, looking a little less steady than usual but keeping in control.
Final Five celebrates (photo via nbcolympics.com)
Final Five celebrates (photo via nbcolympics.com)

Finally, floor, again with Hernandez, Raisman and Biles. Raisman is the reigning Olympic champion on floor while Biles is the reigning world champion, and they showed why. Raisman stuck nearly every landing while Biles nearly flipped to the rafters in her routine that uses music from the movie Rio.
They finished with a team total of 8.209 points. It was the largest margin of victory since the “Perfect 10” scoring system was replaced by the current open-ended scoring method was implemented in 2006. They easily surpassed the previous record of 5.066 points, set by the Fierce Five in London.
Russia finished in second place, followed by China in third. It was Russia’s second consecutive silver, while China was missed the podium in London but won team gold at their home Olympics in Beijing.
For full article, go to: ‘Final Five’ win gymnastics team gold in Rio | NBC Olympics

Ibtihaj Muhammad Will Make History as 1st U.S. Olympian to Compete in a Hijab

By goodblacknews on February 8, 2016
Screenshot of Ibtihaj Muhammad, taken from Twitter on February 3, 2016. (photo via Colorlines.comP
article by Sameer Rao via colorlines.com
When she competes at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Ibtihaj Muhammad will make history as the first member of Team USA to compete while wearing a hijab.
Muhammad, who is Black, secured her spot by winning a bronze medal during the fencing World Cup in Athens on January 30. She is now the second-highest-ranking fencer on Team USA’s women’s squad.
In an interview on TeamUSA.org, Muhammad said that she pursued fencing at the professional level in part to help break barriers in the sport:

“After I graduated from college, I saw there was a lack of minorities in the sport,” Muhammad told TeamUSA.org. “I recognized that I had a skill set, so I started to pursue fencing full time. I felt that it was something the squad needed. There were barriers that needed to be broken in women’s saber.”

Muhammad, who failed to quality for the 2012 Olympics due to a torn ligament, will compete in the Rio Olympics in both the individual and team events along with U.S. Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis.
“I want to compete in the Olympics for the United States to prove that nothing should hinder anyone from reaching their goals — not race, religion or gender,” said Muhammad, who was quoted by TeamUsa.org. “I want to set an example that anything is possible with perseverance.”

US Paralympic Star Jerome Singleton Talks Success On And Off The Track

By goodblacknews on September 30, 2012
Paralympic track and field athlete, Jerome Singleton, poses for a portrait during the 2012 Team USA Media Summit on May 15, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Paralympic track and field athlete, Jerome Singleton, poses for a portrait during the 2012 Team USA Media Summit on May 15, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Even as a child growing up in South Carolina, Jerome Singleton Jr. displayed a natural talent for sports.
In seventh-grade, he made his middle school’s basketball team. By the time he reached seventeen he was one of the top 100 high school football players in the state. Singleton says he was able to compete alongside his able-bodied peers not only because of sporting prowess, but due to an unyielding determination to succeed. “I believe I have been blessed with a gift to excel in different facets of my life.”
The middle child of three children, Singleton recalls a loving and supportive family home. He credits his parents, Jerome and Jacqueline, for their selfless support and high expectations, despite his disability. Born in July 1986 and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina, Singleton was born without a fibula and had his right leg amputated below the knee when he was just 18 months old. Talking about overcoming challenges, he says, “I want to show people they can change their life.”

Obamas Salute Olympians, Paralympians

By goodblacknews on September 14, 2012
President Barack Obama greets members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House September 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama greets members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House September 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama gathered Team USA at the White House on Friday to hail the Olympians and Paralympians as conquering heroes.  “We could not be prouder of you. You gave us a summer that we will never forget,” he told more than 400 athletes crowding bleachers on the South Lawn.  Obama was joined by his wife Michelle, who was in London for the opening of the 2012 Summer Games and led the official U.S. delegation, and Vice President Joe Biden.