Unless the unexpected happens, Debi Thomas will become the first black athlete to win a medal in the Winter Games. Records are not immaculately kept on the point, but apparently it was 1980 before U.S. Bobsledders Willie Davenport and Jeff Gadley, along with their Canadian counterpart Bob Wilson, broke the color line. Several more black athletes will compete in Calgary, including Canadian Hockey Player Claude Vilgrain. If part of the problem is lack of black involvement in winter sports, that is changing too. E. Rory Flack, 18, is the most prominent of a growing number of black athletes following Thomas' lead....
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