This Women’s History Month, I will be spotlighting women athletes and their achievements in college, after college, and beyond. Athletes are humans first and while I want to highlight their athletic ability and achievements, I also want to point a spotlight on what they are doing off their field of play.
Fisk University Women’s Gymnastics team made history in 2023 as the first-ever HBCU gymnastics team to compete at the NCAA level. Head coach Corrinne Tarver knew she wanted to make history again and went about it just 14 months before the team competed in their first meet.
Tarver understands what it is like to be the first and make history. In 1989, she became the first Black gymnast to win an NCAA all-around championship when she did so for the University of Georgia. She is just as impressive off of the mat. She has a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School and was named the Athletic Director of Fisk University in July of 2022.
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If you have followed gymnastics for a while you also remember the name, Dominique Dawes. Dawes was the first black gymnast to win an individual medal in Olympic gymnastics. As per Dawes’ LinkedIn, she recently went to meet the Fisk gymnasts, the next generation of gymnastics history-makers.
“Talk about a rewarding weekend! Speaking to The Fisk Univ. Gymnastics Team, and hearing about my impact on them, in front of my own children, made my athletic/Olympic journey come full circle.
As Black History Month comes to an end and as we enter into Women’s History Month, let’s realize the impact that we make on others, is essential to living a life of fulfillment. This is why I’ve started my own academies, empowering the next generation.
#DawesgymnasticsacademyI’m proud of the courage and poise these young women displayed on and off the gym floor. Trailblazers are what they are!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpGwyGgvzJk/
The past and future of the sport of gymnastics are coming together to create an even stronger foundation for generations to come.
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