Dominique Dawes is keeping a close eye on the Winter Olympics. The four-time Olympic medal winner knows what athletes go through to compete in the Games and loves what she has seen from all the competitors. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Dawes, who shared her thoughts on the Winter Games.
“My family and I, we’ve been watching the Olympics almost every single night. It’s nice to have an introduction to sports that I was not very familiar with,” Dawes exclusively told PopCulture. “And just having that background in the Olympics three times, going myself, I know the level of sacrifice and commitment that these athletes put into it, so I want to support them from a world away. But also, I look forward to the Paralympics, as well. I always think that the Paralympics, many times, are forgotten. It’s usually following soon thereafter the winter games or the summer games, and so I’m looking forward to watching those athletes as well.”
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One of the best moments from the Olympics is speedskater Erin Jackson winning the gold medal. The 29-year-old won gold in the Women’s 500m speed skating event, making her the first Black American woman to medal in speed skating. Dawes knows all about making history as she and Betty Okino become the first African American female to win an Olympics gymnastics medal in 1992.
“It’s huge,” Dawes said when asked about Jackson’s win. “It’s going to be like the impact of Shani Davis. When you see a young African American excel, I mean, she’s the first women solo gold medalist in speed skating that many young African Americans or young girls of color are going to see the sport of speed skating as an opportunity or a platform for them. I’m excited and I know that those ice rinks in the area are going to start booming with a great deal more diversity, and it’ll probably be great for the sport.”
Along with supporting the Olympics and Paralympics, Dawes served as an executive producer for the docuseries Golden, which is streaming on Peacock along with all the Winter Olympic events. Dawes teamed up with LeBron James and his production company to work on the project.
“That’s why I got involved because I knew that they would allow an athlete’s voice to take over and they would allow the athlete to show everything that needs to be shown,” Dawes said. “And in the sport of gymnastics, it is a very secret community. And I only wanted to participate in this project if they were willing to show the behind-the-scenes aspect that no one was privy to before. They didn’t know about a selection process, they didn’t know about the grueling training, they didn’t know about the anxiety and the fear and the insecurities that a lot of these athletes face. … And that’s where Golden allowed that exposure and for people to see inside the sport.”
