African-Americans
Auburn gymnast Sunisa Lee gathers with teammates before performing at a meet at the University of Michigan, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. A record crowd came out to watch Lee, the reigning Olympic champion, and Auburn take on defending national champion Michigan. The arrival of Lee and several of her Olympic teammates at the collegiate level is helping fuel a spike in interest and participation in NCAA women's gymnastics. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
'Beacon of goodness': NCAA women's gymnastics is booming

By Will Graves Mar. 29, 2022 06:07 PM EDT

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Feb. 17, 2022 11:05 AM EST
Feb. 18 1924 — Theresa Weld Blanchard wins her sixth and final U.S. figure skating championship. Sherwin Badger captures his fifth straight and final...

File- Skier Seba Johnson from the Virgin Islands looks back to see her racing time at the Olympic ladies Super-6 event at Mt. Allan in Nakiska, Alberta on Monday, Feb. 22, 1988. Johnson first saw skiing on a tiny black and white TV in the housing project where she lived in Fredericksted, on the island of St Croix. Nine years later, Johnson broke barriers during the 1988 Calgary Games, becoming the first Black woman to ski in a Winter Games, and at 14, the youngest. She relied on support from ski equipment companies, celebrities and other donors, and even then was able to spend far less time training than her competitors, due to socioeconomic barriers. (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha, File)
On the slopes, a struggle for Black skiers’ Olympic dreams

By Aaron Morrison Feb. 16, 2022 07:46 PM EST

Shannon Abeda, of Eritrea passes a gate during the first run of the men's giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
After dip in Beijing, Olympians ask: What about Africa?

By John Leicester Feb. 16, 2022 02:27 AM EST

Erin Jackson of the United States reacts after winning her heat in the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Golden moment: Jackson 1st Black woman speedskating medalist

By Paul Newberry Feb. 13, 2022 03:01 PM EST

Erin Jackson of the United States competes in the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
US looks to build off Jackson's historic speedskating gold

By Beth Harris Feb. 13, 2022 02:12 PM EST

Erin Jackson of the United States reacts after her heat in the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Erin Jackson of US 1st Black woman to win speedskating gold

By Paul Newberry Feb. 13, 2022 09:49 AM EST

Erin Jackson of US wins gold to become first Black woman to medal in speedskating at the Olympics

Feb. 13, 2022 09:40 AM EST
BEIJING (AP) — Erin Jackson of US wins gold to become first Black woman to medal in speedskating at the Olympics. ...

FILE - Elladj Balde of Canada performs during the gale exhibition of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Osaka, western Japan, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014. Balde’s unconventional, hip-hop-inflected dancing style has gone viral on social media in recent years, allowing him to leverage the notoriety to push for both change and diversity. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
On the ice, a question: Where are the Black figure skaters?

By Aaron Morrison Feb. 11, 2022 02:45 PM EST

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Feb. 03, 2022 10:57 AM EST
Body Feb. 4 1861 — The Philadelphia Athletics beat Charter Oak 36-27 in a baseball game played on frozen Litchfield Pond in Brooklyn, N.Y...

In this image made from video, Julian Keane, sociologist at the Urban-Culture Research Center of Osaka City University, speaks during a video interview from Osaka, western Japan, on July 27, 2021. The racial diversity Japan showcased at the Olympic opening ceremony also highlights its lack in Japanese society. The population of people with multiracial and cultural backgrounds continues to rise through more international marriages and an influx of foreign workers, but tolerance to diversity still lags in a country that values homogeneity and conformity. (AP Photo)
Olympics carry a question: What does it mean to be Japanese?

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 04, 2021 04:42 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 27, 2021 file photo, Simone Biles, of the United States, watches gymnasts perform after she exited the team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo. Biles and Naomi Osaka are prominent young Black women under the pressure of a global Olympic spotlight that few human beings ever face. But being a young Black woman -- which, in American life, comes with its own built-in pressure to perform -- entails much more than meets the eye. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
Black women, across generations, heed Biles’ Olympic example

By Aaron Morrison, Astrid Galvan And Deepti Hajela Aug. 03, 2021 10:19 PM EDT

Alice Dearing, of Britain, exits the water after finishing the women's marathon swimming event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dearing, who brought swimming diversity debate, loses race

By Paul Newberry Aug. 03, 2021 10:19 PM EDT

From left, silver medalist, Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu, gold medalist, United States Tamyra Marianna Stock Mensah, bronze medalist, Ukraine's Alla Cherkasova and bronze medalist, Kyrgyzstan's Meerim Zhumanazarova celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women's 68kg Freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Chiba, Japan. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Mensah-Stock 1st first Black U.S. woman wrestler to win gold

By Cliff Brunt Aug. 03, 2021 10:40 AM EDT

Raven Saunders, of United States, reacts during the woman's shot put final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Incredible Raven: Saunders lends her voice to the Olympics

By Eddie Pells And Pat Graham Aug. 01, 2021 03:14 AM EDT

Simone Manuel, top, of the United States, swims alongside Emma Mckeon, of Australia, during heat 10 of the women's 50-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ban on 'Soul Cap' spotlights lack of diversity in swimming

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 31, 2021 06:30 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 13, 2021, file photo, head coach Dawn Staley, center, coaches during practice for the United States women's basketball team in preparation for the Olympics in Las Vegas. Jennifer Gillom says everything is a process. Dawn Staley becoming the first Black female head coach of the U.S. women's Olympic basketball team is no different. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Gillom sisters: Black ex-assistants paved way for Staley

By Teresa M. Walker Jul. 26, 2021 10:04 AM EDT

U.S. coach Dawn Staley talks with guard Sue Bird before the team's pre-Olympic exhibition basketball game against Nigeria in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 18, 2021. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Staley feels no added pressure as first Black US hoops coach

By Doug Feinberg Jul. 26, 2021 09:58 AM EDT

Candice Walker, left, and her sister Delissa, co-owners of Power Moves Gymnastics and Fitness, pose in their facility, Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Cedarhurst, N.Y. The business they started in 2012 was in a space so small it's now a barber shop. They moved to a warehouse in 2015 before opening at their current location last August in Cedarhurst, just east of New York City. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
'This can be me': Black participation rising in gymnastics

By Will Graves Jul. 23, 2021 01:24 PM EDT

Donata Katai is seen after a swimming practice session in Harare, Zimbabwe, Saturday, July 10, 2021. The southern African nation is sending the black swimmer to the Olympics, the first from her country to the Games. Seventeen-year-old Katai won African youth titles and broke youth records once held by two-time Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry, who is not only Zimbabwe's most successful swimmer but also Africa's most decorated Olympian. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Zimbabwe sends its 1st Black swimmer to the Olympics

By Enock Muchinjo Jul. 21, 2021 07:08 AM EDT