Muhammad Ali,
Cassius Clay emerged as an Olympic darling. In 1960, he traveled to Rome and won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division. Just four years later, Ali went on to defeat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. After spending twenty years in the ring fighting legends like
Joe Frazier and
George
Foreman, Ali was invited to light the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
3. Zion Wright
Photo: Getty Images
Zion Wright is the first Black skateboarder to compete in the Summer Olympics. The inaugural US team made their debut at the Tokyo games with Florida native Wright among them. In an interview with