HBCUs have been an enduring presence at the Olympics. HBCUs have partcipated in every Olympics from 1948 to the present. More than twenty-five HBCUs have participated in the games. Black participation in the Olympics can be traced to 1904. George Poague, a sprinter and student at the University of Wisconsin, won two bronze medals in the event. Blacks celebrated the achievements of these athletes. Below, please find the photographs and affliations of the nine HBCU athletes who participated in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Note: The cover image features Alice Coachman, a Tuskegee Institute graduate, who was the first African American to win a gold medal. She won the gold at the London Olympics in 1948. She was a high jumper.
Quanera Hayes (United States)
400 meter dash
Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC
Akeem Sirleaf (Liberia)
4 x 100 relay
North Carolina AT&T, Greensboro, NC
Edose Ibadin ( Nigeria)
800 Meter Dash
Hampton University, Hampton, VA
Jessika Gbai (Ivory Coast)
200 Meter Dash
Howard University, Washington, DC
Joseph Amoah (Ghana)
4 x100 relay, Captain & Flag Bearer
Coppin State University, Baltimore, MD
Sadie McCreath Tardei (Canada)
Sprint/4 X100
Bethune Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida
Danielle Williams (Jamaica)
Hurdles
Johnson C. Smith, Charlotte, NC
Chidi Okezie (Nigeria)
Sprint/ 4 x400 relay
Hampton University, Hampton, Va
Monae Nichols (United States)
Long jump
Bethune Cookman, Daytona Beach, FL