Kelly Curtis is the First Black U.S. Skeleton Racer to Compete in Olympics

By BOTWC Staff

SHE’S WAITED A LONG TIME for this opportunity!

Kelly Curtis just made history as the fi rst Black U.S. skeleton racer to compete in the Olympics, The New York Times reports.

Curtis has always been an athlete, running track and fi eld at Tulane and Springfi eld College before making the shift to skeleton, a sport where

athletes race headfi rst down an icy

track at speeds up to 90 mph. Curtis would use her down time to take on various small gigs and drum up funds to secure training to help perfect her skeleton sliding skills. According to Team USA, a couple of years ago she decided to join the United States Air Force, completing basic training before focusing on training for the Olympics.

“So there was a lot of mutual respect. I respected the women I was going through basic training with right away… if you tell anybody you’re training for the Olympics, then all of a sudden they have a lot of respect for you as well,” Curtis previously told reporters.

Despite the long shot of actually making it, Curtis never gave up, continuing to train while fi nding ways to support herself. Now, the 33-yearold has added her name to the history books, becoming the fi rst Black American skeleton racer to compete in the Olympics. She made her debut, just four years after Simidele