Rajashri Venkatesh
The pride of Olympics is not only the tag of being one of the most renowned sports event in the history of mankind but also the spirit, dedication and the love for sports that each individual athlete brings along with them. These athletes show us that dreams do come true irrespective of your background, history and nationality, all you need is the passion and the unstoppable drive to achieve something for yourself and your nation. Here are few of those remarkable biography of athletes that inspire the generations to come!
hen Popole Misenga and Yolande Mabika fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo three years ago and sought asylum in Brazil, they hoped to escape history. This summer, they may end up making it instead as refugee athletes competing in the Olympic Games for a flag rather than a nation. The judoka, who are seeking asylum in Brazil from their conflict-riven homeland, are being considered for selection in a new category of refugee athletes who will participate under the banner of the International Olympic Committee.
One of Canada’s most memorable Olympic moments involves a medal, but not the gold, silver or bronze traditionally given out to top performers.
Larry Lemieux could have picked up one of those in the sailing competition at the 1988 Seoul Games, as he overcame tough 35-knot winds and was in position to claim a silver medal in the Finn-class competition. Lemieux saw a capsized boat on the adjacent 470-class course, though, with injured Singapore sailors Shaw Her Siew and Joseph Chan in trouble, and he abandoned his race to go help them.
It has been a tale of a friendship forged under the most unlikely of circumstances. African-American Jesse Owens and Aryan poster boy Luz Long went face to face when Nazi Germany hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin -- and allegedly became fast friends. It happened during the long jump competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in full view of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader sitting in the VIP stand. American athlete Jesse Owens had just made his sixth and final jump, a winning 8.06 meters (26 feet 5 inches). Long approached his rival in the sandpit and congratulated him on his gold medal. Owens would later say, "Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace."
At the 1988 Games in Calgary, Jansen, the world sprint champion, was the heavy favorite to take home the gold in both the 500- and 1,000-meter events. But on the very day he was to compete in the 500, his sister, Jane Beres, died from leukemia. While her death was not unexpected, it was obviously a crushing blow to the psyche of 23-year-old Jansen.
Paulo Amotun Lokoro used to herd cattle for his family in southern Sudan until civil war changed his life forever. After being selected to run in the 1500m for the first ever refugee team at the Olympic Games, the 24-year-old has grand ambitions. “A dream would be to break a record. To win a medal, a gold, that is my dream,” he says. In 2004, the outbreak of violence in southern Sudan caused Lokoro’s parents to flee to neighbouring Kenya. After living with his uncle for a short time, war eventually reached Lokoro’s village and he had no option but to escape. “The war started so we ran away. We ran to the bush and stayed in the bush. There was no food, we just ate fruit,” Lokoro rememebers.
Arguably boxing's most celebrated athlete, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was also known for his public stance against the Vietnam War and his longtime battle with Parkinson's disease. Universally regarded as one of the greatest boxers in history, Ali's stature as a legend continues to grow even after his death. He is celebrated not only for his remarkable athletic skills but for his willingness to speak his mind and his courage to challenge the status quo.
The day that Derartu Tulu won the women’s 10000 metres race in Barcelona 1992 – draping the Ethiopian flag across her shoulders – was the historic day when the first black African woman won a gold medal., Derartu-Tulu-Elena-MeyerDerartu was born in 1969; the seventh of 10 children. Her potential started to become apparent in primary school, once she beat her school’s star male athlete.
Tamika has quite an impressive resume both on and off the court and is a true spokesperson for the WNBA. She is as active in the community as she is on the basketball court. During the off-season, it’s common to see Catchings making good on promises to young fans that she'll cheer them on. She gives countless hours teaching and motivating youth. Following the success of her own camps and clinics, she created the "Catch the Stars Foundation Inc." in spring 2004. The foundation's goal is to provide academic and sports related programs for at-risk youth.
Olympian runner Marla Runyan was born on January 4, 1969, in Santa Maria, California. At the age of nine Runyan developed Stargardt’s Disease, which is a form of macular degeneration that left her legally blind. Stargardt’s is the most common cause of blindness in the United States. Despite the effect Stargardt’s had on Runyan’s vision, she did retain her peripheral vision. She attended Adolfo Camarillo High School, graduated in 1987, and then she received a B.S. in Education of the Deaf at San Diego State University and a M.S. in Education of Deaf-Blind Children in 1994.
When Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood atop the medal podium at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists during the playing of the national anthem, millions of their fellow Americans were outraged. But countless millions more around the globe thrilled to the sight of two men standing before the world, unafraid, expressing disillusionment with a nation that so often fell, and still falls, so short of its promise.
