Black Pioneers of the Sporting World
The Most Successful African-Americans, Black Britons and Jamaicans
Aug 22, 2009
Sports has always been an arena for minority achievement, but the types of sports Black people are now excelling in have expanded to include games they did not historically participate in like golf and tennis.
Today, they are not only taking part, they are breaking records and transforming their fields.
Athletics - Usain Bolt
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the fastest man in the world at the Berlin Athletics World Championships in August 2009.
At just 22, he smashed his own 100m world record he set at the Beijing Olympics a year earlier by crossing the line at an incredible 9.58 seconds, the biggest margin of improvement since electronic timing began. Then he broke the 200m record a few days later with 19.19 seconds. He is the first man to hold the World and Olympic 100m and 200m records at the same time.
Born in a small village in Jamaica, Bolt's effortless speed has astounded audiences: "If Bolt can run this fast in a post-Olympic year... after losing weeks of training because of a car accident that had him rolled in a ditch, despite the fact that his 6ft 5in frame prevents him from getting a decent start, and claiming to be just 85% fit weeks before arriving in Berlin, then what on earth will this man do next?" ("Berlin and the World Bows to the Brilliance of 'Superman' Usain Bolt", The Guardian, August 16, 2009)
Tennis - Venus and Serena Williams
African-American sisters Venus and Serena Williams have dominated women's tennis for a decade. The eldest Venus, 29 current World number three, has won 58 titles since 1994, holds the record for the fastest serve by a woman at 127 mph and is the only player to win Olympic gold (Sydney 2000) in both a singles and doubles since 1924.
Serena, 27 is the current World number two and has won 22 Grand slam titles, more than any active female player, has earned more prize money than any other woman in the game and has been ranked World number one four times. The sisters have played each other 21 times, eight of them in Grand Slam finals with Serena currently leading 11-10.
Coached by their father Richard, the Williams' have changed the face of women's tennis. "[Venus and Serena] are the greatest sibling tandem in the history of professional sports... together have won nearly $40 million for their on-court efforts... and neither has reached the age of 30 yet." ("Venus and Serena Williams Dominate Tennis and Continue on their Unprecedented Journey" Shakespearessister.blogspot.com, July 6, 2008)
Golf - Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods has transformed golf's image since the start of his unprecedented winning streak in the mid-90s.
Born Eldrick Tont Woods to an African-American father and Thai mother, the 33-year-old was the youngest player to win the Golf Masters championship aged 21, the youngest to achieve a career Grand slam and has more career wins than any other active golfer.
In 2001, he became the first golfer to hold four major championships at the same time, has been ranked number one for longer than any other player, has won 92 tournaments including 14 major championships and 70 PGA wins and was the highest earning sportsman in 2008 amassing $110 million in that year alone.
"You rarely see an athlete who single-handedly changes an entire sport" said Tennis star Roger Federer in his profile of Woods in 2009's Time magazine 100 Heroes & Icons list. "When Tiger couldn't play last year because of an injury, golf ratings suffered. He has changed the way golfers train and prepare themselves and has brought huge numbers of new fans to the sport...We may never see a golfer like this again."
Formula One Motor Racing - Lewis Hamilton
British-born Lewis Hamilton is the youngest ever Formula One world champion. At just 23, Lewis, whose mother is English and whose father originates from Grenada, is the first Black driver to race in Formula One, the youngest to lead the world championships and the driver with the most pole positions in a debut season.
"Hamilton's debut, and his feat in becoming the first driver to finish in the top three in his first three races, has sparked a level of interest in F1 unseen in the UK since the mid 1990s...to appreciate the significance of Hamilton's rise you have to consider where he started.
"F1 has never before offered a seat to a black driver, and regardless of colour few have come from backgrounds as ordinary as Hamilton's." ("Profile: Lewis Hamilton", The Guardian, April 20, 2007)
Boxing - Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was the first Black global sports star of the modern era. Named Sportsman of the Century by both Sports Illustrated and the BBC, Ali won an Olympic Gold medal aged 18 and went on to become the world heavy weight champion three times, dominating the sport in the 60s and 70s.
Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali's outspokenness and showmanship brought a new dimension to boxing. His self-described 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' fighting style helped him win 56 out of 61 fights to earn his place as 'The Greatest'.
Although beset with Parkinson's disease in later life which renders the 'Louisville Lip' almost mute, Ali's impact on boxing is unrivalled: "Students of boxing will pore over the trio of Ali-Frazier fights, which rank among the greatest in fistic history...they would remember...the fact that Ali had brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports.
"And they would marvel that through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he had become the most famous athlete, indeed, the best-known personage in the world." ("Time 100 Heroes & Icons, Time magazine, 2000)
Sources:
- Tiger Woods: tigerwoods.com
See also: Black Pioneers of the Music Industry
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