The Olympics in Rio are proving to be a huge moment for black excellence. From Simone (both) to Carmelo, our teams are representing the country and our communities well. Since the beginning, more than 150 American universities have produced Olympic medal winners, and Tennessee State University, an HBCU, is one of the top sources for Olympic gold medal-winning athletes.
Producing Olympians is something schools love to brag about, and in some cases they use it as a recruiting tool (they’ll probably throw it out during your campus tour to the rec center). And who doesn’t want to attend a university that’s home to Olympic champions?
There’s no denying the sports talent that HBCUs send through their professional pipeline. Thanks to a list of the top 25 universities with the most gold medal winners, we can celebrate the Olympic history of one HBCU in particular — Tennessee State University.
It’s the only HBCU on the list, with 13 gold out of a total of 24 total medals. They’ve sent 13 athletes to the games, but the most notable is probably Wilma Rudolph, who became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during the 1960s Rome games.
TSU plans to continue their tradition of sending alumni to the Olympics with Markeith Price (class of 2012) who will represent team USA in track and field during the paralympics, which start September 7th. “I am extremely honored and blessed for this opportunity,” he said. “I have dedicated the last four years to training to run the best race to bring home the gold for the U.S.”
Congrats to Tennessee State University for going above and beyond their Motto of “Think, Work, Serve” and bringing home the gold!
