2010 Winter Olympics Black Olympians
Meet the Black olympians who participated in Vancouver's 2010 Winter Games.
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Bill Schuffenhauer - Schuffenhauer overcame a difficult childhood through youth athletics. After growing up in a broken home to a drug-addicted mother and stepfather, he found refuge in high school sports, particularly football and track and field. After transitioning to bobsledding, he made his first Winter Olympic Team in 2002, winning a silver medal, and is now competing in his third Games.
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Chuck Berkeley - Berkeley always dreamed of competing in the Summer Olympic Games in track and field, specializing in the 400 meters while in college. The switch to bobsledding in 2007 was a fruitful one. He won a World Cup competition at the end of 2009.
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Elana Meyers - What do you do if the Olympic Games eliminates the sport you love? According to Elana Meyers, you find another sport. Before becoming a bobsledder in 2007, she was a starter for her college softball team. She won a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships and is definitely a medal contender in Vancouver.
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Errol Kerr - Errol Kerr is Jamaica’s lone entry in the Winter Games, since the Jamaican bobsled team did not qualify. He is competing in the newest sport in the Olympic Games, ski cross.
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Jarome Iginla - Vonetta Flowers was not the only Black person to win a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Games. Jarome Iginla helped the Canadian hockey team to a gold medal that year, and he’s back a third time around to win a gold medal on home turf. Iginla is a five-time NHL All-Star and the Calgary Flames’ all-time leader in goals, points and games played.
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Johnny Oduya - Oduya is taking a break from the Atlanta Thrashers NHL team to represent his native Sweden in Olympic Hockey. Since Sweden is the defending Olympic Champion, Oduya has a strong chance of taking home a medal.
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Kalyna Roberge - The unpredictable sport of short-track speedskating has done well by Kalyna Roberge. At 23, she is her country’s best short-track speed skater and is looking to take home gold in her best event, the 500 meters. She will also be competing in the 1000m, 1500m, and the 3,000m.
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Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong - He picked up skiing six years ago after becoming a receptionist at a ski resort in England. With no financial support from the Ghanaian Olympic Committee, he has funded his training for the last five years all himself. He’s also a one-man marketing machine, with the moniker, “snow leopard” and his own line of clothes.
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Kalyna Roberge - The unpredictable sport of short-track speedskating has done well by Kalyna Roberge. At 23, she is her country’s best short-track speed skater and is looking to take home gold in her best event, the 500 meters. She will also be competing in the 1000m, 1500m, and the 3,000m.
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Nkeiruka Ezekh - Nkeiruka Ezekh is competing in her second Olympic Games in the unique sport of curling. She has a Nigerian father and a Russian mother.
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