Olympic Gold Medalist to Speak at SUU

Published: February 03, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minutes

Southern Utah University’s Convocation Lecture Series is pleased to announce that in celebration of the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics Vonetta Flowers, the first African-American woman (and first person of African descent) to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, will come to SUU directly from Vancouver where she is preparing for another medal run.

Her presentation titled "Preparing for Opportunity" will be Tuesday, February 9, at 11:30 a.m. in the SUU Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

On February 19, 2002, people in Alabama were glued to their TV's, curious to see how the state's only bobsledder would perform against the rest of the world. In less than 1 minute 48 seconds, tears of joy began to flow, because the young woman from Birmingham, Alabama who dared to try an untraditional sport had left her permanent foot prints in the snow by becoming the 1st person of African descent to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics. People from all over the world soon became familiar with the story of how a little girl's dream of competing in the Summer Olympics led her to try out for the U.S. Women's Olympic Bobsled Team. In only 18 months after answering a help wanted ad, she would win the inaugural bobsled event and shatter the racial barrier in the process. Many were shocked to discover the struggles she encountered, others were encouraged by the sacrifices she made and all were inspired by her determination to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming an Olympian.

For times, locations, and full details of each presentation please visit the SUU Convocations website.

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