Source: Richard Heathcote / Getty
Did you know that there are 40 black athletes at the Winter Olympics this year? That is the most ever in history! On the US Olympic team, there are 11 black athletes. Olympic historian Bill Mallon told Outline magazine that there have been “a mere 22 African-American Winter Olympians, from 1976 through 2018.” Wow! When people think of African Americans and the Olympics they think of the summer Olympics but things are changing and not just in the US. Some of the black athletes are representing Great Britain, Brazil, and others while also giving countries like Nigeria and Eritrea their Winter Olympics debut.
As exciting as this news is, it’s still very sad looking at the numbers. According to BuzzFeed, out of nearly 3,000 athletes, black athletes make up just 1.45 percent of those vying for medals. And there only a few vying for individual medals. The cost, due to a combination of equipment and travel expenses, coaching fees, and geographic realities are some of the reasons many black people don’t look at winter sports.
French figure skater, Surya Bonaly told The Root in 2014, “It’s starting to be a little better, but back in the day, skating was so expensive. I mean, it’s still an expensive sport,” Bonaly, who competed in three Olympics. “Also, when you’re black, you don’t really consider winter sports.”
Bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian said at an Olympic press conference that says it best when asked about black athletes at the games. “It’s important to me,” she answered, “that little girls and little boys see someone that looks like them, talks like them, has the same culture as them, has crazy, curly hair and wears it natural, has brown skin, included in different things in this world. When you grow up and you don’t see that, you feel that you can’t do it. And that is not right.”
The Winter Olympics are on NBC now until February 25th.
