#3: Anita DeFrantz: From Olympic Athlete to Olympic VP
Anita DeFrantz began her Olympic career as a rower in the 1970s. She was captain of the U.S. team in 1976 and won a Bronze medal in the women’s rowing competition. DeFrantz continued competitive rowing and raked up six national championship wins, as well as a silver medal at the 1978 World Rowing Championship.
DeFrantz took her athletic career to the next level beginning in the 1980s. She and a group of other athletes attempted to sue the U.S. Olympic Committee over their Cold War resolution keeping Americans from competing in the Moscow Games. Although the lawsuit wasn’t successful, it paved the way for DeFrantz to get more involved. In 1986, she became the first woman and African American to represent the United States in the International Olympic Committee. She then went on to become vice president of the Committee.