Without a doubt the 2016 Rio Olympics was a historic event for African-Americans. Over 28 million people on average witnessed the overload of #BlackGirlMagic daily and if that wasn’t enough, tens of millions streamed the games online, getting an even bigger dose of what black athletes were made of.
The United States’ team poses with their gold medals for men’s basketball.
Brianna Rollins from the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
U.S. gymnasts, left to right, Simone Biles, Gabrielle Douglas, Lauren Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman hold their gold medals during the medal ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women’s team.
Check out the individual accomplishments of the black athletes in Rio below.
Simone Manuel: Team USA, Swimming
The twenty year old, made history on Aug. 11 when she became the first black woman to earn a gold medal in individual swimming.
Simone Biles: Team USA, Gymnastics
She is the only woman to win world championships for three consecutive years.
Daryl D. Homer: Team USA, Fencing
He is the first American (and by default the first African-American) to take home the award in 112 years.
Carmelo Anthony: Team USA, Men’s Basketball
Melo broke a big record on Aug. 11 when he became America’s all-time leading scorer in basketball in the Olympics.
Rafaela Silva: Team Brazil, Judo
On Aug. 8, Silva won the gold medal in the 57-kilogram division for women’s judo.
Almaz Ayana: Team Ethiopia, Track and Field
The Ethiopian runner set new highs for both the Olympic and world records in the 10,000-meter rac
Ibtihaj Muhammad: Team USA, Fencing
She became the first American athlete to compete while wearing a hijab
Michelle Carter: Team USA, Shot Put
She is the first American woman to win the gold medal in shot put.
Usain Bolt: Team Jamaica, Track & Field
He proved he is still the fastest man in the world when he took home the gold medal on Aug. 12 in the 100-meter men’s dash.
Elaine Thompson: Team Jamaica, Track & Field
She took home the gold medal in the women’s 100m race after beating the two-time defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Kristi Castlin, Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali: Team USA, Track & Field
These three black women made a historic win on Aug. 17 when they took home the top awards at the Women’s 100m Olympic Hurdle.
Claressa Shields: Team USA, Boxing
Claressa broke barriers in boxing when she was crowned as a two-time gold medal Olympic champion on Aug. 21.
Allyson Felix: Team USA, Track & Field
Allyson Felix is America’s most decorated Olympic runner winning her sixth gold medal in track and field.
Dalilah Muhammad: Team USA, Track & Field
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(Photo Source: AP, Sports Illustrated Twitter)
All Hail: The Black Olympians That Made History In Rio was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
