On Friday, Booker Rising highlighted the 19 (partially) black athletes competing in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Let's check in to see how they're doing:
Robin Szolkowy, Pairs Figure Skating, Germany **Bronze Medalist**
Yes, I'm one of those women who loves to watch figure skating (although I don't like to ice skate) LOL. Mr. Szolkowy and his partner Aliona Savchenko were in second place, after last night's short skate program. Depending on their performance tonight, we could have our first medalist of African descent (Mr. Szolkowy is half Tanzanian) tonight.
Update: It was an error-filled night on the figure skating rink. Mr. Szolkowy was one of the folks who fell on the ice. After their performance, his partner looks like she wants to beat his azz right there on the rink (LOL). Especially since they were previously in second place and a strong contender for the gold medal (not to mention they're the two-time defending world champions). However, a bronze is still pretty darn good. This is Mr. Szolkowy's first Olympic medal.
Yannick Bonheur & Vanessa James, Pairs Figure Skating, France
Of course, I'm excited that there is a black figures skating pair this year - a first in Olympic history - even if they aren't American. After last night's short skate program, they were in 15th place.
I haven't watched it yet, but apparently Mr. Bonheur and Ms. James stepped up their game tonight. The Wall Street Journal writes about their performance (pictured): "The French couple, Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur, won thunderous applause from the Pacific Coliseum audience tonight for a crazy lift and dismount that spun Ms. James upside down before letting her down safely on the ice. But the commentators noted they probably lost marks on a jump, because the pair didn’t rotate in the same amount."
Mr. Bonheur talks about being a black figure skater: "We want to prove that blacks in figure skating can succeed. We hope that in the future we can win some medals, and bring a black touch to figure skating.'' Hopefully, with tonight's performance, they can get into the Top 10!
Update: Mr. Bonheur and Ms. James came in 14th place, out of 20 entrants.
Robel Teklemariam, Cross-Country Skiing, Ethiopia
Mr. Teklemariam, who is Ethiopia's one-man team at these Winter Games and who combines winter training in Colorado with training on roller skis in the Ethiopian desert, today competed in the men's 15km [9.3-mile] individual event. He placed 93rd out of 95 competitors, in a time of 45:18.9. The event was won by Switzerland's Dario Cologna in 33:36.3.
To comment on "Black Ice Series" post, click here.
BLACK ICE SERIES: Winter Olympics: Checkin' In
