Meet the first Black skeleton athlete to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics

Meet the first Black skeleton athlete to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics

National Public Radio
2022-02-10

Jaclyn Diaz, Reporter

Kelly Curtis stands next to the Olympic rings. She’s competing in the skeleton competition at the Beijing Olympics.
IBSF

BEIJINGSkeleton is a heart-racing, adrenaline-fueled event where a single racer flies face-first down a frozen track, sometimes going more than 80 mph, belly-down on a sled.

Kelly Curtis is quick to acknowledge this sport is “crazy.” That doesn’t make her love it any less.

The event has been a mainstay at the Winter Games since 2002. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, just three Americans will compete for a medal — and Curtis is one of them.

As soon as Curtis shot herself down a topsy-turvy track in Beijing on Friday, she made history.

Curtis is the first Black athlete, man or woman, to represent the U.S. at the Olympics in skeleton. The 33-year-old is also the only member of the U.S. Air Force at this year’s Winter Games.

Curtis joins a small group of Black athletes competing for the U.S. at the Beijing Olympics…

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