2024 Paris Summer Olympics

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are in full swing, and Team USA is doing well, earning medals in various sports. African-American athletes make up a major part of the roster, especially in both men’s and women’s basketball, track and field, boxing, women’s gymnastics and soccer. This has been a factor for several Olympic games. But there are also African-American participants in other sports as well, even if they are less typically thought of as engaging in these events.

This year Team USA has Black competitors in Judo and Taekwondo; fencing and skateboarding, swimming and water polo, and breakdancing. These Olympians are breaking boundaries not only in athletic competition but also in perceptions of which sports African-Americans gravitate toward and excel in. Every Black Athlete Competing In 2024 Paris Olympics (vibe.com)

African-Americans Not Just in Major Sports

Let’s look at these hardworking and fortunate athletes, competing on the world stage in sports not usually thought of as those in which African-Americans dominate, such as Asian martial arts. Carl (CJ) Nickolas is an American practitioner of Taekwondo, a 23 year old from Oakland, CA.

Maria Celia Laborde is a Cuban born judoka, who is 34 years old and has been an American citizen since 2022. Both of these martial artists are proud to represent the US in their debut Olympics.

Lauren Scruggs from Queens, New York City is a fencer in individual foil; only 21 years old, she has already won a Silver medal at the 2024 Olympics! In addition, she won a Gold medal as part of the team competition.

There are African-Americans participating in water sports at the 2024 Olympics: Simone Manuel for the women’s team and Shaine Casas for the men’s roster. Manuel has already earned Olympic medals at the 2016 and 2020 games. She hails from Texas and her stroke is freestyle. Casas is from California and this is his first Olympics games.

African-Americans in Water Sports and New Sports

In addition, Ashleigh Johnson and Max Irving are African-Americans who are water polo athletes. Johnson is from Florida, and also participated in the 2016 and 2020 Games. She indeed holds the distinction of being the first African-American woman to play Olympics level water polo. Irving participated previously in the 2020 Olympics.

AfricanAmericans are also participating in relatively new Olympics sports. Nyjah Huston is participating in his first Olympics games as a skateboarder, one of the newer events in the Summer games (the first time it appeared was in 2020). He is from California.  Jeffrey Louis (“Jeffro”) from Texas is a renowned breakdancer, and this is the very first time that breakdancing will be a medal sport.

African-American Star Power and Newcomer Strength

Certainly there is African-American star power in several Olympics sports: NBA stars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and WNBA luminaries such as Brittney Griner and A’ja Wilson are on the U.S. basketball teams, Simone Biles has returned to the women’s gymnastics team and is earning individual and team medals. Coco Gauff participated in women’s tennis. But let’s also watch and cheer the achievements of African-Americans participating in “less obvious” sports, including newer entries to the Olympic pantheon. They are all competing on the world’s most venerated athletic stage, their intense training paying off for Olympic glory.