It's yet another winning moment for black girls around the world, because it's law that when one of us wins, we all win.
Black girl magic remained the anthem over the weekend when Olympic-hopeful Maame Biney solidified her position as an athlete to watch. Maame has found her true purpose in life as a speedskater. And although she was once told that she could no longer figure skate because she skated too fast, Maame became the first black woman to be added to U.S. Olympic speedskating team!
In doing so, she has also become the second black person to qualify, following in the footsteps of Shani Davis who qualified for the Winter Games back in 2002.
The 17-year-old Ghana native is yet another reminder that black girls really are the future. Girl can move!
During this past weekend's speedskating trials, Maame conquered two victorious 500-meter rounds. But with every win, comes a fail. The teenager saw the saw the humor in it though, and laughed the whole time. She told ESPN about the hilarious moment following her historic win:
"When I realized that made the Olympic team, I started cheering like crazy, and then I made my epic fall."
Fortunately, she was able to get back up again:
"I can't believe it, aww geez. It's a really good feeling, but it has to set in first because it takes me a while. I'm like, 'Holy cow.'"
Her black girl joy is contagious and her skill is undeniable.
Although more of a metaphor, an arsenal of people are in Maame's corner, rooting for her success this winter. This includes her coaches, John-Henry Krueger and J.R. Celski, and a proud father. In fact, her dad's motto is: "Kick some hiney Biney!"
And that's exactly what she did.
We are all rooting for you, Maame! Congratulations on this incredible milestone and your success moving forward.
Watch Maame do her thing below.
- Maame Biney, 17, is first black woman to make Olympic ... ›
- 17-Year-Old Maame Biney Becomes First Black Girl to Make U.S. ... ›
- Maame Biney is first black woman to make Olympic speedskating team ›
- Teenager Maame Biney makes history as first female African ... ›
- Maame Biney Becomes First African-American Woman To Make ... ›
- Olympics: Maame Biney becomes first black woman to qualify for ... ›
- Maame Biney qualifies for U.S. Olympic short track team | NBC Sports ›
- Maame Biney, J.R. Celski make U.S. Olympic short track team | NBC ... ›
- Reston's Maame Biney becomes 1st black woman to make U.S. ... ›
Rumors of a breakup brewing between the two initially sparked earlier this week when news spread that Lori and Damson were no longer following each other on Instagram and seemed to wipe each other's existence from their accounts. Some outlets even pointed out that they arrived at Odell Beckham Jr.'s birthday party separately on Monday night (Nov. 6), which seemed to be yet another hint that pointed to the couple being broken up.
Lori, 26, and Damson, 32, first ignited dating rumors around this time last year when they were spotted having dinner together in December. Their romance picked up steam rather quickly, with the two sharing post showcasing their love on social media in January 2023 and making their red carpet debut as a couple during the premiere of the final season of Damson's hit FX series, Snowfall, in February 2023.
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Damson revealed in a March 2023 interview with Complexthat he was more public-facing with his budding love for Lori than in his past relationships because he was growing. "With my private life today, with my relationship today, it's great. Life is great, and I'm just moving forward."
Compared to her previous high-profile relationship with a certainCreed actor, Lori kept things relatively low-key in interviews, not sharing much with the media about her romance with Damson outside of Instagram pics, red carpet photos, birthday and couples trips, and paparazzi candids.
It's no secret that Lori's dating history can be a hot topic, but the model-turned-entrepreneur is just uncompromising and purposeful about what she is looking for in love. As she should. The shift for her in owning a dating mindset of "not compromising my values, standards, and my requirements" came after Lori almost got married to her former fiancé Memphis Depay at the very young age of 21.
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She explained in a 2022 interview for Bumble, "I felt like I hadn’t really experienced anything. I didn’t really know myself, I didn’t really know what I liked, what I didn’t like. I just feel like I hadn’t really experienced life.”
Lori added, "At that point then I was like I’m about to, like I said, just date on my own terms. However, I want to move, whatever I want to do, I’m going to do it. And if it’s no longer serving me, I’m going to move on.”
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Featured image by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for REVOLVE
