Celebrating Olympic Greats

Black History Month: 

Celebrating Black Olympians

With the Summer Olympics occurring in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, this summer, the library staff is celebrating black Olympians during Black History Month.

In 1904, George Poage was the first black athlete from the United States to participate in the modern Olympic Games, and he won a bronze medal in the 400 meter hurdles.

In the library there are images and information cards that highlight Mr. Poage and other memorable athletes and Olympic games, from Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali to Gabby Douglas and former University of Kentucky basketball player, Anthony Davis.

Gabby Douglas

Anthony Davis

The official Olympics website has a wealth of information about each athlete and the games themselves  too if you want to know more. For instance, did you know that the 1936 Olympics in Berlin were the first to be televised?


We leave you with this clip of the 100 meter dash from the Berlin Olympics.

Image credits: Gabrielle Douglas photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images.
Anthony Davis photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images Europe, July 28, 2012.