Feb. 26, 2026 | Ethan Simmons A new essay from a Recreation, Sport and Tourism professor shows these runners “shaping their own destinies” on a premier stage of the sport. The Boston Marathon’s first known Black finishers. The first Black American to run the marathon in the Olympics. A charismatic road race organizer who ran […]
Tag: Jake Fredericks
Fredericks: How Black American Distance Runners Shaped the Sport From the Shadows
February 29, 2024 | Ethan Simmons The world of competitive long-distance running took off in the 1970s. But stories of the sport’s Black architects and pioneers who laid its foundation have been largely untold for decades. Teaching Assistant Professor Jake Fredericks in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois has […]
How Black distance runners shaped the sport from the shadows
May 22, 2024 | Ethan Simmons While Black American athletes such as basketball’s Bill Russell, baseball’s Jackie Robinson and tennis’s Althea Gibson received significant coverage in the newspapers of the day, ‘marathoning was on the margins’ The world of competitive long-distance running took off in the 1970s. But stories of the sport’s Black architects and […]
Fredericks: How Black American distance runners shaped the sport from the shadows
Feb. 29, 2024 | Ethan Simmons Black American distance runners played a pivotal role in the sport’s early growth. A professor in Recreation, Sport and Tourism is helping to uncover their hidden histories. The world of competitive long-distance running took off in the 1970s. But stories of the sport’s Black architects and pioneers who laid […]