At the Olympic Games this summer, Black athletes will take to the world stage in Paris outfitted in red, white and blue, representing the United States with stars and stripes stamped across their uniforms.
Black athletes will be some of the most high-profile Olympians at the Paris Summer Games. Simone Biles will be making her highly awaited return to the mat, LeBron James will carry the American flag at the opening ceremony Friday, and track star Noah Lyles will set his sights on overtaking Usain Bolt’s gold medal records.
On the road to the Paris Games, Black Olympians spoke with NBC News about the special obligations of Black athletes representing the United States and stepping up as role models.
Crystal Dunn: ‘I’m not just playing for just me’
When Crystal Dunn steps onto the field as the veteran defender on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, she’s not just playing for herself, she said.
“The way that I choose to carry myself in every game, and every moment on the field, I feel like I know I’m not just playing for just me, I’m playing for girls that look like me, and maybe for girls who are fearful of staying in the sport because they don’t feel like they’re welcomed,” Dunn told NBC News in April.
Dunn is headed to her third Olympic Games with Team USA, but the soccer star remembers growing up on Long Island, New York, and not seeing many other Black athletes. “I was that young Black girl who looked around, too, and didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me,” Dunn recalled.
While Dunn played on the 2019 World Cup-winning squad, she has not won an Olympic gold medal. After the beloved team’s loss at the World Cup last year, Dunn said the team is ready for the world stage. “I think the team is in a really good position to put our best foot forward,” Dunn said.
Ashleigh Johnson: Making water polo history, making space for others
Two-time Olympian Ashleigh Johnson said the longer she plays water polo, the less it becomes about her.
“As a Black woman of Caribbean descent in this sport, I definitely feel a special obligation to be a light for little Black and brown girls — and boys — who may be interested in swimming and water polo,” Johnson told NBC News in May.
At times, being the only Black athlete on the national team had felt isolating, Johnson said. But now, as Johnson gears up for her third Olympic Games, she has embraced her role as a trailblazer in the sport.
“You end up realizing you have the power to change that and to make it a welcoming space for other Black people or brown people who may come after you,” she said.
Frederick Richard: Bringing men’s gymnastics to the mainstream
Frederick Richard’s parents put him into gymnastics at age 2 because he was inspired by the tricks he’d seen in his older sister’s classes. Now, as he leads Team USA in Paris, Richard himself is inspiring kids to get into the sport.
“There’s a lot of Black kids that wanted to get into the sport or don’t know how to or kind of don’t have someone to look up to, and my content has been that for them,” Richard said to NBC News in June. “Just to learn about me, see what I’m doing, kind of get inspired. And that’s pretty crazy to think about and see.”
Richard, who scored highest in the all-around category at the Olympic trials, is also inspiring fans beyond competitions. On TikTok, Richard’s videos in the gym have garnered millions of views.
For Richard, bringing the sport to a broader audience is an opportunity for men’s gymnastics, where “you don’t get the recognition compared to other sports.” Men’s gymnastics has only 15 remaining NCAA programs in the U.S.
Going forward, Richard hopes to use his position to expand gymnastics — specifically to Black and underprivileged children. “I’ve gotten this opportunity because of it [gymnastics], and I want to make those things happen for other people,” Richard said.
Jordan Chiles: Bringing Black culture to the world stage
Olympian Jordan Chiles said she nearly quit the sport as a young gymnast due to racist comments from coaches.
“I wanted to be done, because I didn’t think … the sport wanted me,” Chiles said on NBC’s “My New Favorite Olympian” podcast in June.
Now, she’s competing at the Summer Games for the second time — this year, on the most racially diverse team in the history of U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics.
According to NCAA data from last year, just 8% of female college gymnasts and 7% of gymnastics head coaches were Black.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Chiles joined the University of California, Los Angeles’ gymnastics team and scored a perfect 10 at the NCAA Los Angeles regional final with ’90’s hip-hop music for her routine instead of a more traditional approach.
Through a career celebrating Black culture, from her floor routines to her Beyoncé-inspired leotard, Chiles said she is hoping to inspire future generations of gymnasts at the Olympics in Paris.
“I’ve had times where I look at them in their faces and I’m just like, ‘You are the most beautiful human being that God has created,’” Chiles said on the podcast. “I definitely enjoy the fact that the younger generation has someone to look up to that’s like me.”
C.J. Nickolas: Being a role model ‘for the culture’
C.J. Nickolas, ranked second in the world in his weight class in taekwondo, is known for his devastating signature kick. He’s also known for his sportsmanship.
Nickolas’ mother, Denise, said that after every fight, her son runs to get ice for his opponent. In one instance, after a knockout victory, he was not allowed back into the venue and asked his mother to check on his opponent.
“That’s just him,” his mother told NBC News. “So it makes you think: ‘Who even is this person when he’s in the ring?’ It really doesn’t match up to the person he is outside the ring.”
For Nickolas, this competitive spirit and characteristic kindness are part of being a role model for others, specifically Black athletes who are “in the game” watching him on the world stage.
As he eyes the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Nickolas said the way he carries himself as an athlete is “for the culture.”
“I feel like and I hope that I’m portraying the right image so that they can believe in doing it the right way, and you’re a good person and you stand on good morals,” he said. “Then you work hard, obviously, then the right things will happen to you.”
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