The First Black Athlete to Win an Individual Gold Medal

[LAW DAWG]

“I seemed to see all America gazing upon me expecting me to win, all of my race looking at me to make good and all of my family praying for my victory,” Hubbard later recounted in a 1927 book. “I made myself forget that sore heel and threw every ounce of energy that I could dig up into that last jump.”

Hubbard sprinted down the runway, launched himself off the board and landed in the history books: With a jump of 7.445 meters (24 feet 5 inches), he became the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Hubbard’s trailblazing yet unsung achievement, as well as the Olympics’ return to the city where he reached his glory.

Hubbard arrived in Paris amid a standout career as a sprinter, hurdler and jumper at the University of Michigan, where he was the only Black athlete on the track team and one of the few Black students on campus. At the time, the school’s football coach, Fielding Yost, refused to allow Black players on his team, while the basketball team wouldn’t integrate for another three decades.

100 years ago, a Black long jumper made history at another Paris Olympics

The pain mounted in DeHart Hubbard’s foot as he prepared for his final jump of the 1924 Paris Olympics. The 20-year-old was a track star from Cincinnati and one of four Black athletes representing the United States at the Games. He had clipped the takeoff board earlier in the long jump...

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[LAW DAWG]

What would his time be today, 100 years later, with lighter shoes, faster tracks and evolved training?

Just before his recruitment to the U.S. Olympic team, Hubbard starred for Michigan at the Big Ten championships, winning the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds and adding another title in the long jump.

 

[Hedgy]

And to think his family knew nothing of him being world class! Those times were more terrible for Black people than now, so I can see him not making a big deal of his accomplishments. Sometimes made things worse. But his greatness is without question.