Throughout her career, she has won more National Championship medals than any other athlete, male or female, since 1963, as well as numerous World Championship medals. One of her greatest feats came when she swept all four events and won the All Around title at the 1994 National Championships. As a multiple medal Olympic winner, Dawes says she didn’t realize the impact of her achievement — particularly on communities of color — when it happened.
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“I didn’t get it until Halle Berry won the Oscar. And I don’t remember what year it was, but I was home. I remember sitting in my living room bawling, because I thought about the impact that her achievement was going to make on her race and on young people that were seeing that — ‘Oh, if she can do it, I can do it to,’ ” says Dawes. “That’s when the light bulb went on, and I was like, ‘Oh! I get it.’ That’s why people would come up to me and bawl and cry to me, and be like, ‘Oh thank you for all that you’ve done.’ “
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“So my situation is very unique, but I would say for those young gymnasts today that are considering or contemplating going professional, make sure you have a trusted network of people — a small support system of people that are going to advise you truthfully and not tell you maybe either what you want to hear or sounds good. Though it worked for me, it may not work for others,” she says.
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Dominique Dawes: Olympic Champion was originally published on blackdoctor.org
