#Jamaica Athletics Invitational

[downisupandupisdown]

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith 1st in 100m at Jamaica Athletics Invitational. 2024

[aus-wnt]

https://www.codesports.com.au/football/matildas/matildas-star-caitlin-foord-and-newcastle-knights-recruit-jackson-hastings-share-enduring-bond-after-brady-bunch-meeting/news-story/154e1fc632552b2289813e227db527fc

Could you please send this

Matildas star Caitlin Foord and Newcastle Knights recruit Jackson Hastings share enduring bond after “Brady Bunch” meeting

Jackson Hastings isn’t afraid to admit it. Caitlin Foord, a central member of the Matildas’ golden generation, is not to be messed with.

“We used to always go play beach footy one-on-one and Caitlin was always faster than me,” Hastings recalls. “More talented, too. She was as tough as anything.”

Foord and Hastings grew up together in Warilla, a working class beachside hamlet 90 minutes south of Sydney. Both showed immense talent early: Foord with a football, Hastings with a footy. Occasionally, the two would cross over.

“When we used to play footy together I used to beat him pretty easily,” Foord says. “I remind him of that pretty frequently. You can follow that up with him but he’s lying if he says otherwise.” No arguments from Hastings.

“She used to make me cry a few times,” he responds. “I’m surprised she didn’t chuck that in there!”

Hastings and Foord have been friends for over 20 years thanks to a short-term Brady Bunch situation.

Jackson’s dad Kevin dated Caitlin’s mum Simone for a while. While Kevin and Simone ultimately went their separate ways, Jackson and Caitlin, plus Foord’s older sister Jamie, stayed close, hanging out at school and in their spare time together.

“Jamie and Caitlin were like the two older sisters I never had,” Hastings says. “The friendship is a lot deeper than going to school together, which I’m really grateful for.

“If [Caitlin] wanted to play rugby league and didn’t go down the path of playing football, and NRLW had come around sooner, no doubt in my mind she would have brained it. She’s tough, fast, skilful, athletic and mentally strong, too.”

Those traits have not been wasted. Foord has blazed a path from Warilla to Wembley.

When Foord was eight, longtime junior coach Mick Southwell invited the youngster along to a training program with other talented girls.

“Everything I’d heard about her, playing against boys, running rings around them, very athletic and mobile, was there,” Southwell recalls.

“And when she got out there with us, she just wanted to learn. That’s what stood out. Light on her feet, prepared to try things and run at players. Knock the ball past them and run.

“Rugby League would have helped develop that.” Football benefited.

A mere eight years after Southwell first saw her, Foord, just 16, skipped school for a month to play in the 2011 World Cup. She was named the best young player at the tournament.

Foord remains the only Australian player, male or female, to win a major award at a FIFA World Cup.

Hastings still marvels at Foord’s commitment to her craft in her formative years: a two-hour drive up the highway to Sydney every afternoon for elite training, followed by a drive home late at night. Bus to school. Repeat.

Foord credits the influence of Hastings, then a rising star in the rugby league ranks, for helping to hone her steely resolve.

“I think being able to work towards the same goals made us super focused,” Foord says. “And wanting to succeed meant we were determined in the same way.”

Hastings is like a proud little brother.

“I’ve seen her play for Warilla, Shellharbour, local teams,” Hastings says.

“Now she’s a superstar. “It’s incredible to see how far she’s gone in the sport.”

Foord has further to go. She has returned to Australia for this week’s Cup of Nations games against Czech Republic, Spain and Jamaica in dynamic form. A much-needed break last June has done wonders after an 18 month period which left Foord, and a number of other first-choice Matildas, on the verge of burning out.

Covid-19 wiped away most fixtures in 2020 but, after international football resumed in April the following year, the Matildas played 22 games, including the Olympics and Asian Cup.

In addition to increasing club commitments, like Foord has at Arsenal, the top players were fried and were granted leave for games last June against Spain and Portugal.

In the short-term, the move backfired. The Matildas were battered 7-1 by Spain and manager Tony Gustavsson’s future was once again called into question.

The decision, though, could prove to be a long-term masterstroke. Foord, in particular, has hit peak form for Arsenal and scored five goals in three games for the Matildas late last year.

“I think my goal scoring is a confidence thing,” Foord says. “I’m a confidence player. When I feel good, that reflects well on the field.” More importantly, the fearless and free version of Foord, first noticed as an eight-year-old in Wollongong, is back, terrorising defenders with her customary direct running.

Foord started this season outside Arsenal’s first XI, but forced her way in. And with key injuries to Gunners stars Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, she has stepped up with seven goals, plus involvement in countless others, in all competitions.

“I’ve always wanted to carry over to the national team what I can do at club,” Foord says. “That’s been my focus, when I come in, to be able to bring the same standard and level to each game and it will be the same this year as well.“

Hastings, now with the Newcastle Knights, will get to witness this first hand next week when the Matildas play Jamaica at his home-ground, McDonald Jones Stadium.

It will provide further confirmation of what he knew 20 years ago. “It’s awesome to see what she’s done for the women’s game,” Hastings says, before adding something more valuable about their relationship. “And she knows if I ever needed anything, I’d be there. And I know that would be vice versa.”

[jamaicansdotcom]

Jamaica to Host New Jamaica Athletics Invitational Competition in May 2024 http://dlvr.it/T65z1l

[mynewshq]

Tobi Amusan qualifies for 100m hurdles semis in 2024 Olympics

World champion Tobi Amusan qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semi-finals in the ongoing 2024 Olympics in Paris on Wednesday.Amusan led the pack of eight athletes with 12.49 seconds, followed by America’s Alaysha Johnson with 12.61 and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown qualified with 12.84 seconds. Amusan is certainly among the favourites for the gold medal, but that won’t come easy, contending with a strong field that includes the Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, USA’s Alaysha Johnson, world champion Danielle Williams and reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico. The semi-finals will hold on Friday, August 9, while the final is slated for the penultimate day of the athletics event, Saturday, August 10. The 27-year-old has been in great form in the run-up to the sports fiesta, running a season’s best and then world lead of 12.40s (0.9) at the Jamaican Athletics Invitational in Kingston in May. Before then, she had set the indoor record for the African 60m hurdles twice in January and February.In March, she won her third consecutive African Games title in Ghana, plus anchoring the women’s 4x100m to gold in Accra as well as the African Championships in Cameroon three months later. Read the full article

[scholarshipja]

This corruption by @ssljamaica is spreading. Source - @face2faceafrica ・・・ #News - An investigation has been launched after millions of dollars went missing from an investment account belonging to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt. The investigation was revealed by the star athlete’s long-standing manager, Nugent Walker, after Bolt discovered discrepancies in his accounts, Jamaican news portal The Gleaner reported. Jamaica’s Financial Investigations Division and Financial Services Commission is reportedly looking into the case at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL). The Gleaner also added that SSL has invited the police. Photo Credit: J. Brichto #face2faceafrica (at ScholarshipJamaica.com) https://www.instagram.com/p/CniA4tZOGMp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[historymeetsliterature]

Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson - women in history (15/?)

Althea (August 25, 1927 - September 8, 2003) was an American tennis player and golfer. In 1956, Althea was the first African American to win a Grand Slam title.

Althea was born in the town Silver, in South Carolina. Her parents were sharecroppers on a cotton farm; during the Great Depression, rural southern farmers struggled hard so her family moved to Harlem. This move made by lots of southern farmers became know as the Great Migration. In the 1930s,a stretch of 143rd Street (where Althea lived) was designated as a play area so children could play organized sports. In 1939, when she was 12 years old, she became the New York City women's paddle tennis champion. Unfortunately, one year later she dropped out of school and spent time in a protective shelter for abused children to escape from her fathers violence.

In 1941, Althea won her first tournament: the American Tennis Association (ATA) New York State Championship. She later went on to win several ATA national championships. Walter Johnson noticed her success and took Althea under his patronage. This way, she gained access to more advanced instruction. In 1946, Althea got into the racially segregated Williston Industrial High School. In 1949, Althea managed to become the first Black woman (and second Black athlete) to play in the USTA's National Indoor Championships. She managed to get a full athletic scholarship at the Florida A&M University.

Despite her talent and elite-level, Althea was barred from entering the premier American tournament, the United States National Championships (now US open). Only in 1950, Althea got an invitation to the Nationals as the first Black player. One year later, she one her first international title: The Caribbean Championships in Jamaica and she also played as one of the first Black competitors at Wimbledon. In 1956, Althea won a Grand Slam (French Championships) as the first African-American athlete. She continued to win many other important tournaments.

Her achievements were very important for POC in tennis. Only after 15 years, another non-white woman (Evonne Goolagong) won a Grand Slam championship and after 43 years, another African American woman (Serena Williams) won the US Opens (first of her 6 victories there!). Althea opened the way for other POC athletes. She was also the first woman to receive the Theodore Roosevelt Award.

[tutyayilmazz]

Ahead of tomorrow’s team final, here’s a video of the Turkish team introducing each other with some fun facts! (And they also pronounce each other’s names if you wanna hear, idk what happened to my original post about names oops)

Ümit Şamiloğlu says that as the oldest and the team captain it’s down to him start. He names Ferhat Arıcan as the master of parallel bars and the inventor of countless skills. He says Ferhat’s “secret” nickname is Jamaica

Ferhat introduces Ahmet Önder as someone who likes coffee as strong as Ahmet looks tough on the outside (it sounds awkward in English but he uses the same adjective for both 😅) Very determined and ambitious, a staple of the team, he will conquer Europe and then Tokyo!

Ahmet tells us about Abdelrahman Elgamal, or Abdo as they call him, came to Turkey 2 years ago to become a more successful gymnast and added strength to the team. There’s plenty of medals to be won with his goals

By the way, I finally found information about the mysterious Elgamal who this video says is of Egyptian origin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCbS-sYTUv4  Here, he says he’s very happy and very excited to compete as a part of the Turkish national team. He has many goals and they’re working towards the Olympics. Coach Yılmaz Göktekin says that Abdelrahman’s story started 2,5 years ago when he came to Turkey by his own will as he didn’t find the conditions weren’t sufficient and a sports mentality missing. Now he has gotten Turkish citizenship and is a licensed athlete of Turkey, and is venturing to change his name to a Turkish name. Yılmaz Göktekin adds that they are expecting an Olympic spot from next Euros. Now back to the introductory video...

Abdelrahman introduces the “king of the rings”, very successful and also modest, romantic and really fun to be around and ends with “If he isn’t on the team, then neither am I, he’s the man, he’s İbrahim Çolak!”

İbrahim begins by mouthing a few words but not speaking and then says that that’s how quiet Ümit Şamiloğlu speaks 😂 the oldest of the team and [one of the] oldest athletes in the world, twice as old as the youngest of the team. But with his poise and perfomance he never shows his age. With his guidance and experience as an older brother figure, İbrahim believes they can write history

In the end they invite us to watch them on TRT Spor 2

[islanddazerp]

VINES OF THE EARTH

Running deep in Jamaica is a cultural and racial history that is as rich as it is complex. From the Taíno people to the enslaved Africans and Indian and Chinese laborers who eventually populated the island—worlds that once stood apart are now combined. The island, shaded by palm leaves and cooled by the sea breeze, is made up of families who do not forget old things. Families whose resentments are made of gossamer veils that cannot hide the pain and passion of memories they’ve sought to throw away. In Montego Bay, three families whose lives were formerly separated were brought together by the actions of their children; the young ones who reached across cultural boundaries to find love, power, and disappointment. Young men and women who after decades have not been healed. Instead the old wounds remain raw, picked at by the shame and allure that comes of old lovelorn romance, infidelity, and embarrassment. For years the families remain unreconciled, passing down to their children a heritage of pride and intolerance, forcing them to live within the consequences of the older generation’s unforgiving ways.

The Palmers, Huangs, and Inalsinghs are always in some form of contention. Now that the Salgados and, more recently, the Lantiers have become part of their stories, the pain of the past rains down, leaking into shallow graves and hidden gorges.

These are the vines of the earth, rooting themselves so sweetly.

( 4 PALMERS )

A notable, driven family, the Palmers have one of the strongest roots in Jamaica, but especially so in Montego Bay. Their industry is in sugarcane, from which they yield sugar, molasses, and rum. As the generations went on, they only gained more power, but no one has brought them forward like Fitzroy Palmer.

Each of his children have every possession it takes to succeed. He notes, publicly and privately, that they are the ideal family. Still, to his own parents’ disappointment, their single imperfection has always been the low birth and dark complexion of his wife. A strike at the pride of a man who’d been the most responsible child out of all the families, the one who found that every dispute seemed to lay on his shoulders to bear and fix. Among his siblings, he is the only one worth his salt. Reginald never quite found out what to do in life beside drinking and bedding different women, and Sylvie (now Lantier) fell in love with the island’s biggest playboy then ran away with him to Cuba only to be banished to the U.S. as her punishment. As such, his parents entrusted him with everything, and now he’s one of the most powerful (and opinionated) people on the island. Thus, he grew older with the sense that he was smarter, even better than the rest.

His children were brought up with a similar mindset, continually weaned on the idea that every inch of the earth is theirs for the taking.

THE HUANG FAMILY – is friendly with them.

THE INSALSINGH FAMILY – is neutral, but their fathers and uncles get too drunk and argue in bars about old things.

THE LANTIER FAMILY – are their cousins.

THE SALGADO FAMILY – shares a mutual distaste with them.

grew up in a house full of black artwork and statues — rooted here since the foundation of jamaica's,cousins adopted by their family since uncle reginald (and their different mothers) wouldn't take care of them — friends with foreign diplomats & celebrities  — educated in international schools  — speak several languages  — very prideful  — very close as a family  — a good public appearance is everything  — casual globetrotters  — all strive to please their father even when they don't want to  — act like the world belongs to them  — in jamaica it most certainly does.

( 4 HUANGS )

Industrious, the Huang family owns several grocery and common good stores within the Caribbean. Cherry was and still is the island’s fashionista, ahead of the time all the time. Her husband, Long, is one of the most popular figures on the island, both a decorated war hero and diver who won two gold medals at the Olympics for China. As a couple, they’re impressive, and their children have proven to live up to their name. Each one like their father, particularly athletic and disciplined in their talent. Whether all of them are smart enough to make use of it is another thing.

In her youth, Cherry dated Ravi Inalsingh who, at the time, was secretly seeing Sylvie Lantier (née Palmer). Both Cherry and Ravi, aware of their parents’ expectations, were intent on marrying within their cultures, but after some time Cherry fell in love thinking she tamed the island’s notorious badboy. Then she caught Ravi and Sylvie making love in the fields. She stayed quiet for a week before telling the ever-arrogant Fitzroy Palmer to see the fields at night. The revelation was a temporary embarrassment, placing the Huangs at the center of island gossip. Cherry's mother quite frankly lost it, upset by her daughter's cool demeanor despite the teasing that came from people they'd offered loans and free groceries.

When it all died down, the Huangs never truly lost much. Though at the center of the chaos, Cherry reveled in seeing all the families except hers fall apart. She grew brighter, in fact, marrying Long who she found to be her perfect match after all. So many decades later, she’s over the issue, but her mother isn’t. Sylvie’s return has only caused unease.

THE INSALSINGH FAMILY – is being warmed up to but their grandmother (cherry’s mother) is constantly warning them about the children. she would be damned if any one of her grandchildren becomes involved with an inalsingh.

THE LANTIER FAMILY – gets along fine with them, but their mother (cherry) makes her distaste of them well-known.

THE PALMER FAMILY – is friendly with them.

THE SALGADO FAMILY – have been neutral with them, but they’re wary marta will point her political demonstrations toward their shops.

all athletic  — raised in a good, respectful household  — rooted here since the 1870s  — own several popular dry good stores  — known for their generosity , very close as a family, taking each other's side in public no matter the embarrassment  — a pillar in the island's community  — seen as leaders even if they don't want to be  — all talented but they're not all quite smart  — speak in spanish to evade their parents' listening ears — deathly afraid of their grandmother, violet  — some of them live frugally but they're rich $$$  — own horses  — take trips to visit family in china  — mindful of their reputation on the island

( 5 INALSINGHS )

The Insalsinghs own a large cocoa farm on the island, importing their sweets to premium chocolate brands in France and Italy. Among them, Ravi grew up as the boy of every girl’s dreams in Montego Bay. Tall, barrel-chested, incredibly handsome. The type of face that could melt your thoughts away. Rumored to have fathered two other children on the island, most say he’s been with Sylvie Lantier more than any other girl. Before him, the Inalsingh family were at a distance from the public eye, but Ravi was never one to be hidden. He is credited with warming up relations between the parish and its Indo-Caribbean community. A good party or public affair is never room for him or his family to attend. Thus, his wife and children are well-received, too. These days it seems no one ever blames Ravi for anything though he’s the cause of everyone’s fussing.

Ravi dated Cherry Huang while secretly seeing Slyvie Lantier. Eventually they were caught by her brother, Fitzroy, after Cherry gave him a hint to see the fields at night. Angering three sets of parents (Cherry’s family never liked the Inalsinghs, Ravi’s family already set up his marriage to Lakshmi, the Palmers liked Ravi but were concerned about his reputation) he and Sylvie to the fled to the other side of the island, eventually making way to Cuba before a team of uncles brought him back. Sylvie was sent away to the U.S.

Under pressure from his family, he immediately married Lakshmi whom he barely knew intimately, having only met her on occasional trips to Calcutta. For years their marriage was a mess. Lakshmi, worn thin, constantly called home to complain about his behavior, but it all stopped after a trip to the U.S. settled him down like an old lion. They got to know each other, growing into a love that took time and patience to create. As a result, they created five clones out of Ravi’s remarkable beauty and Lakshmi’s talent of making friends out of anybody

THE HUANG FAMILY – has warmed up to them, but the huang grandmother constantly sows seeds of discord between them.

THE LANTIER FAMILY – had formerly been their friends, but their father (ravi) is being uncharacteristically strict about them getting close.

THE PALMER FAMILY – is neutral with them, but their fathers and uncles get too drunk and argue at bars about old things.

THE SALGADO FAMILY – is neutral and friendly toward them.

whew  — raised in a carefree, but tense household  — rooted here since the 1860s , own a cocoa farm with a stronghold on the exports  — their father has an infamous reputation & their mother has had to deal with it  — not truly held accountable for their actions — they're the branch of family that everyone both wants to be like and pities  — parents argued constantly for their first 10 years of marriage  — uncommonly popular on the island and online  — always invited to parties and events  — all get along (sometimes) but they aren't very close  — resent and have heard jokes about their father having more children on the island  — currently discussing who gets the cocoa farm should their father die young

( 3 LANTIERS )

Like a nightmare, the Lantiers come to the island on the cusp of an old shame. One not yet known to the children, but perhaps they'll know soon because here everyone knows about Sylvie, the only daughter from the dynasty family known as the Palmers. Recently, she's scandalized the community again when she returned with a white husband and three children, one of whom is of a notably darker complexion.

Her husband, Frédéric, is a magazine editor who ended his jet-setting lifestyle by courting Sylvie during her stay in New York City. Marrying him opened up opportunities, ones her family in Jamaica did not like and in conclusion chose not to be present for except to send her children's cousins over for vacation. Though it's been years since Sylvie embarrassed her parents by running away with Ravi Inalsingh, the Palmers glaze over the incident and their behavior like it never happened.

So it’s not known to everyone that she still took Ravi's phone calls and invited him to the city just a few years into her own marriage. The island gossip is that Frédéric is certainly not the father of one of the children. But still the three have their own problems to worry about when Ravi won’t let his children near them and when the Huang grandmother sneers at them on the streets. The Lantiers thought Jamaica would be peaceful, alas, it isn't. Not for the children of a woman with a mark on her

THE HUANG FAMILY – used to get along fine with them, but the huang grandmother is driving in a wedge.

THE INSALSINGH FAMILY – struggling to get along with them, they don't know that their father (ravi) is trying to keep them apart.

THE PALMER FAMILY – are their cousins.

THE SALGADO FAMILY – friendly toward them, their mothers have quickly become like best friends.

very american  — raised by caretakers and without limits  — came here a few months ago  — mother is a palmer (formerly banished from home and resentful about it)  — father is a frenchman and magazine editor  — close, despite the distance from their mother  — grew up unaware of their family's history in jamaica  — literally shocked that there's so much they didn't know  — have a hard time adjusting to the island , tend to feel like outsiders looking in  — stick close out of necessity — trying to make the best of being here for the summer  —  it's #toohot  — some people pity them and help them out  — others side-eye them for being sylvie's children, especially the one with a darker complexion  — their mother has always told them they have the same father

( 6 SALGADOS )

Although the Salgado's arrived more than twenty years ago, the still considered new. Fitzroy Palmer mistakenly said they were Cuban and now everyone who doesn’t question him thinks so, too. They’re a blended family with both extensions from Brazil, having come together at a crucial point in life. Their mother, Marta, is a matriarch. Her first husband Hugo Cáceres was a politician who, once a champion of the people, grew cold. She fiercely disagreed with his policies, so much so she secretly backed an opposition group that fought against him. When he found out, he immediately threw her out of the house. Knowing she might face greater consequences, she fled with her children to Montego Bay. Here she met Angelo who brought in his own three children, later having one child together. They don’t have a lot of money, but they do have the respect of the community.

Marta never dropped her activist roots. She still fought for the rights of common people, leading demonstrations against big corporations on the island with her babies held either in her arms or with a wrap on her back. She allied herself with local groups and seemed to throw her life into supporting them. Her name, along with a few others, became synonymous with civil rights on the island. She is not welcomed anywhere the government sets foot, and the number of times she’s been arrested says so.

She raised her children to live fiercely and freely, but is by no means easygoing. She expects a lot out of them and is no fan of excuses. Angelo, on the other hand, has always been soft with them. Still, their mother is a matriarch and they've learned not to test her.

THE HUANG FAMILY – is neutral with them.

THE INSALSINGH FAMILY – is neutral and friendly toward them.

THE LANTIER FAMILY – friendly toward them, their mothers have quickly become like best friends.

THE PALMER FAMILY – shares a mutual distaste with them.

they're brazilian  — 3 are exiles from a rich political family  — 3 are children of a poor artist  — 1 comes from both (the youngest child)  — grew up in a very strict household that became more relaxed as they grew older  — don't all get along  — very vocal mother and very supportive father  — live lower class lives  — wealthy families are wary of them — grew up having to share beds  — their mother's reputation precedes them —  while she can be exhausting the 3 children she came to the island with are very protective of her —  scrappy & world-wise  — survival skills level: 100  —  they can make fun of each other, but no one else can

[onestowatch]

Koffee Sets “Rapture” Ablaze With Remix Feat. Govana

Photo: Frank Fieber

Don’t let Koffee’s modest nature fool you. Though the five-foot-nothing teenager is relatively unassuming in interviews, the Jamaica native writes meteoric hip-hop/reggae crossover hits that are as fiery as her home nation’s cuisine. Her latest release, a remix of the title track from her debut EP Rapture, sports a deafening trap beat and booming vocal that more than live up to the song’s name.

For the her first publicly released remix, Koffee invites fellow island resident Govana to join her on the song. The addition of the rising dancehall star to “Rapture” adds a further layer of intensity to the already fervently danceable track. The duo trades smoldering verses over a blazing concoction of Caribbean musical influence and American hip-hop production techniques, creating a deliciously global track that will have your hips moving from the first beat to the last.

It didn’t take long for Koffee to gain widespread recognition after the release of her first single in 2017, “Legend.” The acoustic reggae track was written as a tribute to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and quickly became a hit after the athlete reposted a video of the song to his Instagram. Not a year later, reggae hero Cocoa Tea introduced Koffee at Rebel Salute, where she performed with two of her greatest musical inspirations, Protoje and Chronixx.

Along with the addition of Govana to the track, Koffee released a music video to accompany “Rapture (Remix).” Watch the duo declare their massive presence while dancing around their hometown of Spanish Town, Jamaica, here:

[blackkudos]

Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title (the French Open). The following year she won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals (precursor of the U.S. Open), then won both again in 1958, and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments, including six doubles titles, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. "She is one of the greatest players who ever lived," said Robert Ryland, a tennis contemporary and former coach of Venus and Serena Williams. "Martina couldn't touch her. I think she'd beat the Williams sisters." In the early 1960s she also became the first black player to compete on the women's professional golf tour.

At a time when racism and prejudice were widespread in sports and in society, Gibson was often compared to Jackie Robinson. "Her road to success was a challenging one," said Billie Jean King, "but I never saw her back down." "To anyone, she was an inspiration, because of what she was able to do at a time when it was enormously difficult to play tennis at all if you were black," said former New York City Mayor David Dinkins. "I am honored to have followed in such great footsteps," wrote Venus Williams. "Her accomplishments set the stage for my success, and through players like myself and Serena and many others to come, her legacy will live on."

Biography

Early life and education

Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, in the town of Silver, in Clarendon County, South Carolina, to Daniel and Annie Bell Gibson, who worked as sharecroppers on a cotton farm. The Great Depression hit rural southern farmers sooner than much of the rest of the country, so in 1930 the family moved to Harlem, where Althea's three sisters and brother were born. Their apartment was located on a stretch of 143rd Street that had been designated a Police Athletic League play area; during daylight hours it was barricaded so that neighborhood children could play organized sports. Gibson quickly became proficient in paddle tennis, and by 1939, at the age of 12, she was the New York City women's paddle tennis champion.

In 1940 a group of Gibson's neighbors took up a collection to finance a junior membership and lessons at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. In 1941 she entered—and won—her first tournament, the American Tennis Association (ATA) New York State Championship. She won the ATA national championship in the girls' division in 1944 and 1945, and after losing in the women's final in 1946, she won her first of ten straight national ATA women's titles in 1947. "I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl, through the grace of God," she wrote. "I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents."

Gibson's ATA success drew the attention of Walter Johnson, a Lynchburg, Virginia, physician who was active in the African American tennis community. Under Johnson's patronage—he would later mentor Arthur Ashe as well—Gibson gained access to more advanced instruction and more important competitions, and later, to the United States Tennis Association (USTA). In 1946 she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, under the sponsorship of another physician and tennis activist, Hubert A. Eaton and enrolled at Williston High School. In 1949 she became the first black woman, and the second black athlete (after Reginald Weir), to play in the USTA's National Indoor Championships, where she reached the quarter-finals. Later that year she entered Florida A&M University on a full athletic scholarship.

Amateur career

In 1950, in response to intense lobbying by ATA officials and Alice Marble—who published a scathing open letter in the magazineAmerican Lawn Tennis—Gibson received an invitation to compete in the United States National Championships (now the U.S. Open) at Forest Hills. She was the first black player ever selected, and made her debut on her 23rd birthday. Although she lost narrowly in the second round in a rain-delayed, three-set match to Louise Brough, the reigning Wimbledon champion and former U.S. National winner, her participation received extensive national and international coverage. "No Negro player, man or woman, has ever set foot on one of these courts," wrote journalist Lester Rodney at the time. "In many ways, it is even a tougher personal Jim Crow-busting assignment than was Jackie Robinson's when he first stepped out of the Brooklyn Dodgers dugout."

In 1951 Gibson won her first international title, the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica, and later that year became the first black competitor at Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the third round by Beverly Baker. In 1952 she was ranked seventh nationally by the USTA. In the spring of 1953 she graduated from Florida A&M and took a job teaching physical education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. During her two years at Lincoln she became romantically involved with an Army officer whom she never named publicly, and considered enlisting in the Women's Army Corps, but decided against it when the State Department sent her on a goodwill tour of Asia in 1955 to play exhibition matches with Ham Richardson, Bob Perry, and Karol Fageros. Many Asians in the countries they visited—Burma, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, and Thailand—"...felt an affinity to Althea as a woman of color and were delighted to see her as part of an official U.S. delegation. With the United States grappling over the question of race, they turned to Althea for answers, or at least to get a firsthand perspective." Gibson, for her part, strengthened her confidence immeasurably during the six-week tour. When it was over, she remained abroad, winning 16 of 18 tournaments in Europe and Asia against many of the world's best players.

In 1956 Gibson became the first African-American athlete to win a Grand Slam event, the French Open singles championship. She also won the doubles title, partnered with Briton Angela Buxton. Later in the season she won the Wimbledon doubles championship (again with Buxton), the Italian national championship in Rome, and the Asian championship in Ceylon. She also reached the quarter-finals in singles at Wimbledon and the finals at the U.S. Nationals, losing both to Shirley Fry.

1957 was, in her own words, "Althea Gibson's year". In July she won Wimbledon—considered, at the time, the "world championship of tennis". She was the first black champion in the tournament's 80-year history, and the first champion to receive the trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth II. "Shaking hands with the queen of England," she said, "was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus." She won the doubles championship as well, for the second year. Upon her return home Gibson became only the second black American, after Jesse Owens, to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City, and Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. presented her with the Bronze Medallion, the city's highest civilian award. A month later she defeated Brough in straight sets to win her first U.S. National championship. "Winning Wimbledon was wonderful," she wrote, "and it meant a lot to me. But there is nothing quite like winning the championship of your own country." In all she reached the finals of eight Grand Slam events in 1957, winning the Wimbledon and U.S. National singles titles, the Wimbledon and Australian doubles championships, and the U.S. mixed doubles crown, and finishing second in Australian singles, U.S. doubles, and Wimbledon mixed doubles. At season's end she broke yet another barrier as the first black player on the U.S. Wightman Cup team, which defeated Great Britain 6–1.

In 1958 Gibson successfully defended her Wimbledon and U.S. National singles titles, and won her third straight Wimbledon doubles championship, with a third different partner. She was the number-one-ranked woman in the world and in the United States in both 1957 and 1958, and was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years, garnering over 80% of the votes in 1958. She also became the first black woman to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time.

Professional career

In late 1958, having won 56 national and international singles and doubles titles, including 11 Grand Slam championships, Gibson retired from amateur tennis. Prior to the Open Era there was no prize money at major tournaments, and direct endorsement deals were prohibited. Players were limited to meager expense allowances, strictly regulated by the USTA. "The truth, to put it bluntly, is that my finances were in heartbreaking shape," she wrote. "Being the Queen of Tennis is all well and good, but you can't eat a crown. Nor can you send the Internal Revenue Service a throne clipped to their tax forms. The landlord and grocer and tax collector are funny that way: they like cold cash ... I reign over an empty bank account, and I'm not going to fill it by playing amateur tennis." Professional tours for women were still 15 years away, so her opportunities were largely limited to promotional events. In 1959 she signed to play a series of exhibition matches against Karol Fageros before Harlem Globetrotter basketball games. When the tour ended she won the singles and doubles titles at the Pepsi Cola World Pro Tennis Championships in Cleveland, but received only $500 in prize money.

During this period, Gibson also pursued her long-held aspirations in the entertainment industry. A talented vocalist and saxophonist—and runner-up in the Apollo Theater's amateur talent contest in 1943—she made her professional singing debut at W. C. Handy's 84th birthday tribute at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1957. An executive from Dot Records was impressed with her performance, and signed her to record an album of popular standards. Althea Gibson Sings was released in 1959, and Gibson performed two of its songs onThe Ed Sullivan Show in May and July of that year, but sales were disappointing. She appeared as a celebrity guest on the TV panel show What's My Line? and was cast as a slave woman in the John Ford motion picture The Horse Soldiers (1959), which was notable for her refusal to speak in the stereotypic "Negro" dialect mandated by the script. She also worked as a sports commentator, appeared in print and television advertisements for various products, and increased her involvement in social issues and community activities. In 1960 her first memoir, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, written with sportswriter Ed Fitzgerald, was published.

Her professional tennis career, however, was going nowhere. "When I looked around me, I saw that white tennis players, some of whom I had thrashed on the court, were picking up offers and invitations," she wrote. "Suddenly it dawned on me that my triumphs had not destroyed the racial barrier once and for all, as I had—perhaps naively—hoped. Or if I did destroy them, they had been erected behind me again."

In 1964, at the age of 37, Gibson became the first African-American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. Racial discrimination continued to be a problem: Many hotels still excluded people of color, and country club officials throughout the south—and some in the north—routinely refused to allow her to compete. When she did compete, she was often forced to dress for tournaments in her car because she was banned from the clubhouse. Although she was one of the LPGA's top 50 money winners for five years, and won a car at a Dinah Shore tournament, her lifetime golf earnings never exceeded $25,000. She made financial ends meet with various sponsorship deals and the support of her husband, William Darben, brother of best friend and fellow tennis player Rosemary Darben, whom she married in 1965 (and divorced in 1976).

While she broke course records during individual rounds in several tournaments, Gibson's highest ranking was 27th in 1966, and her best tournament finish was a tie for second after a three-way playoff at the 1970 Len Immke Buick Open. She retired from professional golf at the end of the 1978 season. "Althea might have been a real player of consequence had she started when she was young," said Judy Rankin. "She came along during a difficult time in golf, gained the support of a lot of people, and quietly made a difference."

In 1976 Gibson made it to the finals of the ABC television program Superstars, finishing first in basketball shooting and bowling, and runner-up in softball throwing. With the advent of the Open Era she began entering major tennis tournaments again; but by then, in her forties, she was unable to compete effectively against younger players. She also attempted a golf comeback, in 1987, with the goal of becoming the oldest active tour player, but was unable to regain her tour card. In a second memoir, So Much to Live For, she articulated her disappointments, including unfulfilled aspirations, the paucity of endorsements and other professional opportunities, and the many obstacles of all sorts that were thrown in her path over the years.

In 1972 she began running Pepsi Cola's national mobile tennis project, which brought portable nets and other equipment to underprivileged areas in major cities. She ran multiple other clinics and tennis outreach programs over the next three decades, and coached numerous rising competitors, including Leslie Allen and Zina Garrison. "She pushed me as if I were a pro, not a junior," wrote Garrison in her 2001 memoir. "I owe the opportunity I received to her."

In the early 1970s Gibson began directing women's sports and recreation for the Essex County Parks Commission in New Jersey. In 1976 she was appointed New Jersey's athletic commissioner, the first woman in the country to hold such a role, but resigned after one year due to lack of autonomy, budgetary oversight, and adequate funding. "I don't wish to be a figurehead," she said. In 1977 she challenged incumbent Essex County State Senator Frank J. Dodd in the Democratic primary for his seat. She came in second behind Dodd, but ahead of Assemblyman Eldridge Hawkins. Gibson went on to manage the Department of Recreation in East Orange, New Jersey. She also served on the State Athletic Control Board and became supervisor of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. In 1983 she married Sydney Llewellyn, her coach during her peak tennis years. That marriage also ended in divorce, after five years; she had no children.

In the late 1980s Gibson suffered two cerebral hemorrhages and in 1992, a stroke. Ongoing medical expenses depleted her financial resources, leaving her unable to afford her rent or medication. Though she reached out to multiple tennis organizations requesting help, none responded. Former doubles partner Angela Buxton made Gibson's plight known to the tennis community, and raised nearly $1 million in donations from around the world.

In early 2003 Gibson survived a heart attack, but died on September 28, 2003, at the age of 76 from complications following respiratory and bladder infections. She was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey, near her first husband, Will Darben.

Legacy

It would be 15 years before another woman of color—Evonne Goolagong, in 1971—won a Grand Slam championship; and 43 years before another African-American woman, Serena Williams, won her first of six U.S. Opens in 1999, not long after faxing a letter and list of questions to Gibson. Serena's sister Venus then won back-to-back titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001, repeating Gibson's accomplishment of 1957 and 1958.

In 1980 Gibson became one of the first six inductees into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, placing her on par with such pioneers as Amelia Earhart, Wilma Rudolph, Gertrude Ederle, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Patty Berg. Other inductions included the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, and the International Women's Hall of Fame.

In 1991 Gibson became the first woman to receive the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the highest honor from the National Collegiate Athletic Association; she was cited for "symbolizing the best qualities of competitive excellence and good sportsmanship, and for her significant contributions to expanding opportunities for women and minorities through sports." Sports Illustrated for Women named her to its list of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes". In August 2013 the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp honoring Gibson, the 36th in its Black Heritage series.

In a 1977 historical analysis of women in sports, New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden wrote, "Althea Gibson and Wilma Rudolph are, without question, the most significant athletic forces among black women in sports history. While Rudolph's accomplishments brought more visibility to women as athletes ... Althea's accomplishments were more revolutionary because of the psychosocial impact on black America. Even to those blacks who hadn't the slightest idea of where or what Wimbledon was, her victory, like Jackie Robinson's in baseball and Jack Johnson's in boxing, proved again that blacks, when given an opportunity, could compete at any level in American society."

On opening night of the 2007 U.S. Open, the 50th anniversary of her first victory at its predecessor, the U.S. Championships, in 1957, Gibson was inducted into the US Open Court of Champions. "It was the quiet dignity with which Althea carried herself during the turbulent days of the 1950s that was truly remarkable," said USTA president Alan Schwartz, at the ceremony. "[Her] legacy ... lives on not only in the stadiums of professional tournaments, but also in schools and parks throughout the nation. Every time a black child or a Hispanic child or an Islamic child picks up a tennis racket for the first time, Althea touches another life. When she began playing, less than five percent of tennis newcomers were minorities. Today, some 30 percent are minorities, two-thirds of whom are African American. This is her legacy."

Gibson's five Wimbledon trophies are displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. The Althea Gibson Cup seniors tournament is held annually in Croatia, under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Althea Gibson Foundation identifies and supports gifted golf and tennis players who live in urban environments. In 2005 Gibson's friend Bill Cosby endowed the Althea Gibson Scholarship at her alma mater, Florida A&M University.

In September 2009 Wilmington, North Carolina, named its new community tennis court facility the Althea Gibson Tennis Complex at Empie Park. Other tennis facilities bearing her name include Manning High School (near her birthplace in Silver, South Carolina), the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, Florida A&M University, and Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey. In 2012 a bronze statue, created by sculptor Thomas Jay Warren, was dedicated to her memory in Branch Brook Park. "I hope that I have accomplished just one thing," she once wrote, "that I have been a credit to tennis, and to my country." "By all measures," reads the inscription on her Newark statue, "Althea Gibson certainly attained that goal."

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=Althea+Gibson&lang=en

[downisupandupisdown]

Nigerian world record holder Tobi Amusan (2nd left) beats Jamaica's Danielle Williams (3rd left) in the women's 100m hurdles at the first staging of the Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (PHOTO: Marlon Reid).

[calacuspr]

The Northants DJ tuning in for Jamaica ahead of Beijing 2022

By Ben Stevenson

From his training camp lodge in Storklinten, North Sweden, Benjamin Alexander spoke candidly about his journey from leafy Northamptonshire to the Austrian Alps and the FIS Alpine Skiing circuit.

He started travelling the world as an international DJ and made a crucial pit-stop – a heli-skiing party in the Canadian Rockies – that set in motion his dream to become Jamaica’s first Alpine skier at an Olympic Winter Games, in Beijing 2022.

A ‘Rockie’ Start

Although born and raised in England, Alexander has spent most of his adult life crossing borders, shifting from a lucrative finance job in Asia to jet-setting as an international DJ, all before his Olympic pursuit began.

The British-born Jamaican credits his travels for giving him an international outlook and for leading him to the allure of skiing – the sport that has changed his life.

“The initial attraction was when I was invited to DJ at a heli-ski lodge in Canada,” Alexander says.

“We were flown to the top of the mountain to join the skiers for lunch. When I first saw the terrain, in this remote part of British Columbia, with not a soul around for tens if not hundreds of miles, I was just taken aback by the scenery. I’d never seen snow like that before in my life.

“And then at the end of lunch, my friends just put on powder skis and disappeared off down the side of the mountain. I was like, ok I want to do this, this is incredible.”

From that moment, Alexander started skiing sporadically with his friends while on the DJ circuit.

Three years later, in 2018, he had his lightbulb moment: “I did a week in Revelstoke, followed by going to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, followed by a week in Niseko, Japan, and three weeks across Patagonia – both sides, Chile and Argentina. That was when I fell in love with the sport,” he explains.

“Then I went to the Winter Olympics and noticed there were only three Jamaican athletes. So a little bit of an idea was forming there. It wasn’t until then that I decided to retire from DJing and said, ‘Ok, what’s the next fun project in my life going to be?’ And I decided that would be skiing.”

Alexander set about committing himself to the sport, crediting his group of friends for pushing him to consider competing at the Olympic Games for Jamaica, a country he qualifies for through his father, joking about the parallels with the 1993 Disney film ‘Cool Runnings’.

While the comparisons may feel tiresome and stereotypical from the outside, Alexander remains highly motivated by the film, which immortalises the 1988 Jamaican boblsed team’s journey to the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

He has enlisted Dudley Stokes, the pilot of that team, as his mentor and leaned on his experiences from four Winter Olympic Games, tapping into the guidance needed to plan an Olympic qualification attempt under the flag of a small nation.

“Dudley has a lot of experience. He understands the complexity of being in a place where, maybe ‘you shouldn’t be’ and having to be a fighter and scrape together a tiny budget to make things happen – so his main input is almost as a mental coach.”

In January 2019, Alexander sought the counsel of another former Winter Olympian, Europa Cup skier Gordon Gray, telling the American about his plans and asking for his advice. After watching him for a few hours, Gray said Alexander’s technique was ‘terrible’ but was amazed that – having skied for just 25 days in total and had two lessons – the rookie was somehow managing to keep up with him. Technique can be learnt, was Gray’s view; fearlessness not so much.

Media Relations

Without doubt, the most impressive thing about Alexander’s road to Beijing has been his ability to control his own narrative.

Having spent ten years as a globetrotting DJ, without the support of a manager or agent, he has developed crucial transferable communication skills. These abilities have helped him to develop personalised messaging that has helped him get his story out.

Alexander estimates his Olympic bid will cost him upwards of £100,000, with sponsors covering about 15% of the project so far and the rest is coming from savings and loans. Capturing much-needed media attention is vital to securing as much external funding as possible.

Alexander added: “If I get across the line and qualify, I know that I’m going to be able to recuperate a lot of those funds.

“By virtue of having a network of people around the world, who themselves have been very successful in their own right, I’ve had offers to help once I get to qualification level. So I feel very confident that once I get my toes over the line I’ll recuperate all of my expenses.”

Alexander is using his commercial nous to achieve this, such as his merchandising of a Jamaica Ski Team jacket for the Olympic Games. He will use the jacket to sell logo placements to companies that are keen to associate their brands with his extraordinary journey.

When he’s not trying to achieve qualification time on the slopes, the 38-year-old spends his time contacting journalists and appearing on podcasts and YouTube channels.

Alexander is very proactive and aggressive with his media relations approach, citing 80% of his coverage as a result of contacting journalists directly.

“I like to think of a story and the interest the media have in it as a huge tool,” he says.

“Keep pushing that energy into getting that ball up to speed and rolling. You never know who’s reading an agency newsletter or listening to a niche podcast that only has a few hundred listeners. That someone may be able to connect you to a sponsor or maybe the host of a bigger podcast, for example.

“I know that absolutely everything I need in the world, whether it’s an introduction to a CEO of a huge company, or direct financing, whatever, it is either already in my network, or one step removed from it.”

Alexander values social media, viewing it as a highly functional means to further promote himself and gain support. He is persistent with his posting activity – constantly sharing videos and pictures of himself on the mountain or in the locker room – and is resolute in making sure his journey remains front and centre in the minds of contacts in his social network.

“There are so many skiers out there who fall short financially or they're going to come up short because they didn't get enough media attention, so they didn't get any sponsors. I'm really good at that side of it. I mean, if the gold medal was based on the number of column inches that you get then I would have the gold medal. But unfortunately, I also need to be decent enough at the skiing, which is what I'm working on right now.”

In a world where there are constant distractions and endless information overload online, it can be daunting attempting to build a following.

Alexander’s self-communications approach is refreshing and a prime example of what can be achieved by telling an exceptional story – and being relentless with it.

Trailblazing a Pathway

Winter sports have always been predominantly contested by white athletes, due in no small part to the lack of snow in warmer climes.

However, Alexander is a beacon of hope for those dreaming that one day the sport can have heroes that look like them and he is keen to stress that he doesn’t see skiing – and other winter sports – as inherently racist.

“I've received nothing but awesome support from all of the people in and around this sport,” he says.

“The reason that a lot of minorities don't ski is that their parents didn't ski, or that their parents don't have the disposable income to afford a ski holiday.

“The majority of black people live in urban centres away from mountains, and I think that you need to have one of those three things: Family skiing background, lots of disposable income, and being near to a mountain.

“So it's not a racist thing, it’s more of a generational thing. I think this will change, but it's not an overnight fix.”

This is a key objective for Alexander after Beijing 2022, leaving a legacy that lays the foundations for future minority athletes in winter sports.

While there will not be another Olympic attempt after this one, he plans to remain involved with the sponsors and contact network he has built over the last few years.

Undertaking a philanthropic endeavour is one goal – he wishes to continue putting his message out, encouraging people from minority backgrounds to take up winter sports.

Setting up a foundation to share this knowledge is the other – Alexander is aware that there are talented young skiers out there, from Jamaica and other small nations, with a higher ceiling than himself. He wants to share his experience to guide them and has already identified three prospects he is hoping to guide towards the 2026 games in Milano Cortina. 

“I really want to give back to all of the people who have helped me and to help the next generation of skiers come through,” he explains.

“Then it doesn't become a selfish pursuit of some guy going to the Olympics. It actually becomes more like the Cool Runnings bobsled team where you're blazing a path for other people to follow with less resistance.”

For Alexander, success on this front means creating a future pathway for skiers from Jamaica and other under-represented nations: “If I can come out of the Olympics and inspire a bunch of people and be involved with future athletes, helping them out with everything that I've learned, in the same way as Dudley Stokes and the Jamaica 1988 Bobsled team inspired me – that’s success.”

Whether Alexander’s qualification bid proves to be successful or not, his message extends beyond elite athletic performance, and the impact of his story transcends Olympic sport itself.

If a British-Jamaican DJ can put skis on for the first time at the age of 32 and make it to an Olympic Games in just six years, there is hope for us all that nothing is impossible.

 Learn more about Benjamin Alexander at www.benji.ski and follow him on Instagram @benji.ski

[jamaicansdotcom]

Watch: Sha’Carri Richardson Makes Surprise Appearance at Jamaica Athletics Invitational

http://dlvr.it/T6zbwd

[olympicgames-en]

Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake not confirmed for Jamaica invitational

#OlympicGames #Beijing2008 [NDTV]Officials in Kingston say they are unable to confirm at this time if two of the country's most celebrated athletes - Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake - would be available for the Jamaica invitational ...

[nfl2sevensummits]

Benjamin Alexander: From being an international DJ to trying to make the Jamaica Olympic Ski Team. What are the odds?

182: Benjamin Alexander: Soon-to-be Olympic Alpine Skier representing Jamaica and former International DJ discusses his journey from being a financial analyst to traveling all over the world as a DJ and his current pursuit to represent Jamaica in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

  Benjamin Alexader

  What is Benjamin Alexander’s connection to the Jamaican Olympic team? “I’m half English, half Jamaican. My father was born on the south side of the island. that’s actually why this whole thing came about. The funny thing is, as a mixed-race person, half-white and half-black, whenever you’re in a group of white people, you’re the black guy; when you’re in a group of black people, you’re the white guy. So, skiing is obviously a very very white pursuit, so that means I am the token black guy in any group of friends when we’re skiing. I’m also Jamaican, so then there’s also this movie Cool Runnings about the Jamaican bobsled team in 1988. Everyone knows this movie so there’s people always talking about Cool Runnings and Jamaican on ice. So, honestly, this whole thing just started off as a joke.”

On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Benjamin Alexander, Expert Alpine Skiier and former international DJ. “Sometimes failing is not a failure. Sometimes failing is a pivot into something that 10 years from now you look back and realize that maybe that was the better thing that you didn’t even think about because you were so focused on the first goal I don’t think there’s anything more positive than a human that is on a mission that they’re really really pumped up and jazzed up about. When you have this thing in life that is a burning passion, it creates a better version of you.” 

  What You Will Learn:

Benjamin Alexander dives into his love for electronic dance music and how that took him all over the world. “So, I actually started DJing 20 years ago...before YouTube. I had come across this genre of music, this underground form of electronic dance music that was really only available in nightclubs, at raves, or illegal pirate radio stations in London. Because I wasn’t of legal age, so I couldn’t get into the night clubs or the raves, the only way for me to really recreate that experience was to buy turntables and just go out there and buy the records myself and recreate it in my bedroom. This week, actually, is the 20-year anniversary of one of the first mixtapes that I put out. It just started as a hobby. My interest in it just kind of came and went. It wasn’t until I moved to Asia that I started to collect the music that was super popular at that moment.”

How did Benjamin take his basement hobby and turn it into a career? “I really enjoyed performing for people. Something that I would do casually at afterparties then turned into a bit more of a serious hobby. I was invited to play at the best nightclub in Hong Kong called Club Voila. It got to the point in early 2010 where I was working 50 hours a week in the industry of finance and wealth management, and working 5 or 6 hours a week across 2 or 3 gigs in Hong Kong and Macau, and making enough money from the djing alone to scrape by but having far more fun with the djing than the suit and tie 9 to 5. I decided to take the leap of faith in just going full-time with the creative pursuit and I just wanted to see what happened. My eyes were opened to this event called Burning man and from then everything exploded and I before I knew it I was playing all over the world. I was living in Ibiza for my summers and by the time I retired from djing at the end of 2018, I had the opportunity to perform in almost 35 countries.”

Where did Benjamin’s creative bug find him? Or did he find the bug? “Definitely was the class clown. Definitely the trouble maker. I never thought of being a performer of any sort. When I started to collect records, I really did it out of necessity. The energy that I was listening to out of these cassette tapes that were being recorded from pirate radio was like nothing else id experienced. The only way that I could get access to this thing that had this allure, this energy that I hadn’t experienced anywhere else was really just to recreate it myself. I’m an engineer by trade and I just kind of approach these problems by brute force. After a while, you find yourself in a place where without even realizing it, you’re better than 95% of everyone else that’s doing it. You weren’t doing it with the anticipation or the expectation or the desire to be doing it on stage. You were doing it because you just loved the trade and after a while, you were just so much better than everyone else that you naturally just have to follow this through.”

When did the light go off that inspired Benjamin’s goal of getting to the Olympics in 2022? “In 2018, I went to the Olympics in South Korea as an attendee and I noticed that there were only 3 Jamaicans representing the entire country and I was kind of taken by surprise by that fact. We put the Cool Runnings movie on and a lightbulb kind of went off. If there’s only 3 athletes  representing the country of Jamaica, maybe I can be plus one when we get around to the Olympics.”

What is Benjamin trying to show people about skiing and achieving their dreams in general? “The story that I’m’ trying to tell here is not only that minorities can do well in winter sports, it’s also that you can do really well even if you pick up something as athletic as skiing later on in your life. But it’s also trying to tell that skiing doesn’t have to be expensive. How many pieces of sporting equipment sit idle in a garage. If you are unafraid to just ask the people around you for help, for gear, it’s incredible. I looked at a photo of all of the things I was wearing in July and every single piece of clothing that I was wearing was a gift, a hand-me-down, or something that I was sponsored. So there are ways to make this thing inexpensive?”

  Heli-Ski Trip

Where did Benjamin find the inspiration to not only get into skiing but skiing at an elite level? “So, at the end of 2015, I was invited to a heli-ski trip. I had never skied before. Without embellishing the lavishness and how amazing this thing was, on one of the days, the housecats as they called us, the 8 of us that were not skiing, had the opportunity to jump into a helicopter and join the skiers on top of the hill for lunch. I got up there, and I was just blown away by the scenery by the beauty, by the remoteness of being the only people for tens of miles if not further. Then at the end of lunch, just watching all of my skiing friends hop on their skies and just disappear down the side of the mountain. It just blew my mind. From that moment, there and then I set the intention that I would not return to that place without joining the skiing contention.”

  Qualifying for The Olympics

During this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, Benjamin Alexander discusses his improbably rise from a 12-year-old in his room, to an international DJ, to his current pursuit to make the 2022 Olympics as a Jamaican Alpine skier. “How can it be possible that someone who just started skiing in 2016, especially someone who started skiing later in life, that he believes within 5 years he’ll be able to qualify for the Olympics? The spirit of the Olympics is that you have as many nationalities represented in as many disciplines as possible. What the Olympics does to make that possible is every nation has the ability to put forward 1 b-standard athlete. What that basically, means is, if I can get myself to the level of a really good 16-year old ski racer, you know, the cookie-cutter ski racer started skiing at the age of 2 and started racing at the age of 7 and by 16, they’re going to be at that level if they’re good that I need to get to for me to qualify for the Olympics.”

  Links to Additional Resources:

Mark Pattison: markpattisonnfl.com

Benjamin Alexander: Instagram | Website

Mark Pattison: Instagram

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[esheessentials-blog]

 Althea Gibson was born on August 25 th , 1927, in Silver, South Carolina. Sharecroppers, her parents left South Carolina, and settled in Harlem, NY in 1930 when she was three years-old.  As a child, Althea had a knack for causing problems getting into trouble at school, but she loved sports.  Growing up in Harlem, Althea often played paddle ball on barricaded streets, and at the age of 10 participated in a paddle ball competition hosted by the Police Athletic League (PAL), which she won. Over the next few years Althea perfected her paddle game at the recreation center and on street walls, and at the age of twelve she won the New York City women’s paddle tennis championship. Althea’s talent did not go unnoticed. The musician, Buddy Walker, was a recreation employee, who often saw Althea practicing and  convinced her to try using a tennis racket, which he bought the first one for her.  Convinced of her talent, in 1940, Walker took Althea to the interracial Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in Harlem and after playing a few sets she was sponsored a junior membership and lessons with tennis pro Fred Johnson. Only one short year later in 1941, at the age of 14, Gibson entered and won first tournament, the American Tennis Association’s New York State Championship. Consistent with the times, tennis was a segregated sport, and just as baseball had the Negro League, tennis had the American Tennis Association (ATA), the African American version of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA). She went on to win the ATA National Junior Championships in 1944 and 1945. After losing the Junior Championship in 1946, two active ATA members sponsored Althea to relocate to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she would live and attend school during the year, and intensive tennis training in Lynchburg, Virginia during the summer.  Wanting to give up while attending school in Wilmington, she happened to run into Sugar Ray Robinson, a friend from Harlem, who encouraged her to better herself.  Inspired by his words, Althea went on to win every event on the ATA schedule, and the first of 10 consecutive ATA national championships in 1947.  In 1949, after graduating high school, she entered Florida A&M University on a full athletic scholarship, which her successes in the ATA had earned her.  While attending Florida A&M University (FAMU). Althea Gibson accomplished several of her many first, the first being the first African American tennis player to compete at the U.S. National Championships in 1950 ( now the U.S. Open). In 1951, Gibson won her first international title, the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica, and later that year she would make history a second time, when she became the first African American ever invited to play at Wimbledon. After graduating Florida A&M University in 1953, Gibson took a job teaching physical education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri; however,  she continued her tennis competitions and in 1955 she was chosen as one of four American women by  the U.S. State Department to go on a goodwill tour of Asia.  Remaining abroad after this tour, Gibson went on to win sixteen of eighteen tours in Europe and Asia, and in 1956 she would again make history.  In 1956, she made history at the French Championships (now known as the French Open by becoming the first African American to win the singles and doubles’ title there and later in 1956 won the doubles at Wimbledon.  Althea went on to make history yet again on July 6, 1957. Seeded first at Wimbledon in 1957, she became the first African American in the tournament's 80-year history to win the women’s singles tennis title and the first African American to win a championship at London’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.  She also won the doubles that year for the second year in a row, as well as, the U.S. singles and mixed doubles champion. In late 1958, after winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open again, with fifty-six national and international singles and doubles titles including eleven Grand Slam championships, Gibson retired from amateur tennis at the age of thirty-one. Tennis was not the only sport that Althea would  break down barriers in during her lifetime.  In 1964, Althea broke another barrier by becoming the first African-American women to join the LPGA ( Ladies Professional Golf Association) tour, which she played until 1971. On September 28, 2003 Althea Gibson died at the age of seventy-six in East Orange, New Jersey, and in 2013, the USPS honored Gibson with a commemorative stamp.