On this final day of Black History Month it is an honor to feature Black U.S. Gymnastics Olympians. To make the Olympic Team is the ultimate goal for a gymnast!
Going back to 1980, there are 12 African Americans who made the USA Gymnastics Olympic Team:
Luci Collins (1980)
Ron Galimore (1980)
Charles Lakes (1988)
Betty Okino (1992)
Dominique Dawes (1992, 1996, 2000)
Jair Lynch (1992, 1996)
Chainey Umphrey (1996)
Tasha Schwikert (2000, 2004-alt.)
Annia Hatch (2004)
Gabby Douglas (2012, 2016)
John Orozco (2012)
Simone Biles (2016)
There were a total of 17 Olympic Medals won:
Simone Biles (5) 4 Gold, 1 Bronze
Dominique Dawes (4) 1 Gold, 3 Bronze
Gabby Douglas (3) 3 Gold
Annia Hatch (2) 2 Silver
Betty Okino (1) 1 Bronze
Jair Lynch (1) 1 Silver
Tasha Schwikert (1) 1 Bronze
What an incredible achievement! As a group, this is powerful!
We are so proud and honored to feature these groundbreaking and inspirational Olympians for our Black Gymnasts in History project.
Thank you for following along and sending recommendations along the way. We do our best to update and I am adding a special mention of my own – Wally Miller.
Wally was a several time USA National Team Member, an All-American for Southern Connecticut University, and he represented the U.S. all around the world.
He was also so nice and so fun. He was a great athlete who left us too soon – but we will always remember his great gymnastics.
Wendy
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