Olympics and the Spirit of Friendship and Solidarity

Oympic flags copyright Brad Caulkins: http://www.123rf.com/profile_bradcalkins

The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are now complete. Myriad countries won medals, records were broken and millions of people around the world united for a common cause: cheering on athletes of all different nations, cultures and backgrounds.

In support of this worldwide opportunity to find common ground, it’s encouraging to note that the International Olympic Committee created the Olympic Movement, with the goal “to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind, in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

With this in mind, PWNA is proud and excited to spotlight three Native American athletes at the 2016 Olympics.

• Ashton Locklear, Lumbee, is the first-ever Native American on the United States Women’s Gymnastics Olympic team. An alternate on the team, she said during an interview with Pow-wows.com, “I feel a great sense of pride and am honored to represent native people.”
• Rickie Fowler, who is Navajo (and Japanese) on his mother’s side, is a well-known professional golfer, and represented the U.S. at the Olympics.
• Jaimie Thibeault, T’Sou-ke Nation, is a member of the Canadian Women’s Volleyball Olympic team.

Who did you cheer for during this year’s Olympic Games? Which Native athletes do you want to see at the next Olympics?