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By Oretha Winston at Elev8.com

Africans Americans have always had the heart of  Olympiads. I have been watching and cheering on the  the American team at the Olympics with pride the last few nights.  It called to mind the past winners.

There have been many that  etched their places on podiums that should never be forgotten.

John Baxter Taylor, Jr. became the first African-American winner of a gold medal in the Olympics and the first African-American to win a gold medal as a United States team member.

Jesse Owens faced down Hitler and stood proud when he won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter runs, broad jump (now called long jump) and the 400-meter relay at the 1936 Games in Berlin

Alice Coachman became the first Black woman to win a gold medal, thanks to a record-setting performance in the high jump at the 1948 Summer Games in London

Tommie Smith and John Carlos winners of the gold and bronze medals in 1968 gave the world a shocking symbolic moment. At the medal ceremony they, had come to the ceremony dressed to protest: wearing black socks and no shoes to symbolize African-American poverty, a black glove to express African-American strength and unity. (Smith also wore a scarf, and Carlos beads, in memory of lynching victims.) As the national anthem played and an international TV audience watched, each man bowed his head and raised a fist. After the two were banished, images of their gesture entered the iconography of athletic protest.

Muhammad Ali was a former heavyweight champion and holds the  1960 Olympic gold medal in Boxing.