FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 14, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
Richards honors borough’s very own Olympic gold medalists
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
EDITORIALQNS.COM
QNS
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards presented keys to Queens to two of
its beloved daughters, Olympian gold medalists
Dalilah Muhammad and Tina Charles,
on Friday, Oct. 1.
Th e gold medalists were surrounded by
elected offi cials and student-athletes from
Christ the King High School in Middle
Village, Bayside’s Benjamin Cardozo High
School as well as the 2021 Junior Olympians
from the Metro Eagles youth track and fi eld
team on the steps of Queens Borough Hall.
Richards also presented proclamations to
the Olympic duo, declaring Oct. 1 Dalilah
Muhammad Day and Tina Charles Day in
the borough of Queens.
Track and fi eld star Dalilah Muhammad,
a native of Rochdale Village, made history at
the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,
when she became the fi rst American woman
to win a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles.
At the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and
Field Championship, Muhammad broke the
16-year-old 400-meter hurdles world record
with a time of 52.20 seconds. Later that year,
she smashed her world record at the 2019
World Championship with 52.16 seconds.
At the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Muhammad
lived up to the anticipation running her
fastest time ever with 51.50 seconds in the
women’s 400-meter hurdles fi nal, winning
the silver medal aft er Syndey McLaughlin.
Alongside her teammates McLaughlin,
Athing Mu and Allyson Felix, Muhammad
won her second Olympic career gold medal
in the 4×400-meter relay.
Tina Charles, a native of East Elmhurst,
won Olympic gold three times with the
USA’s women’s basketball team — 2012 in
London, 2016 in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo —
helping her team win seven straight Olympic
gold medals.
Charles, an eight-time WNBA All-Star
and the WNBA’s reigning scoring champion,
is one of the most decorated professional
basketball players of her generation.
She was an All-American at Christ the
King High School and a two-time NCAA
champion at the University of Connecticut.
Charles won the WNBA Rookie of the Year
award in 2010 before winning WNBA MVP
honors in 2012.
In 2018, Charles was recognized for her
charity work off the court when she earned
the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Human Spirit
Award for her Hopey’s Heart Foundation,
which distributes automated external
defi brillators to schools, and funded the
construction of a 150-seat school in the West
African nation of Mali.
Richards was thrilled to welcome Charles
and Muhammad, and said he couldn’t think
of two more worthy recipients of the keys
to Queens.
He described both athletes as “living
proof that with hard work and dedication,
there is nothing that kids across Queens
cannot achieve.”
“Dalilah Muhammad and Tina Charles are
more than just legendary athletes and Olympic
champions. Th ey are role models and inspirations
to the countless young people of our
borough — kids who now know that with hard
work and dedication, there is no limit to what
a child of Queens can achieve,” Richards said.
“Dalilah and Tina represent the very best of the
‘World’s Borough,’ and these inspiring women
are more than deserving recipients of the key
to Queens.”
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams, cosponsor
of the ceremony, was bursting with
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams delivers remarks before the presentation of the keys to Queens to
Olympic gold medal winners Tina Charles and Dalilah Muhammad on Oct. 1.
pride since both athletes and their families
call her district home.
Adams, who also presented City Council
proclamations recognizing the sportswomen’s
achievements, couldn’t feel “but tremendous joy
and admiration” for the two young women who
grew up in southeast Queens.
She recalled that she was beaming with
pride watching them compete in the Tokyo
Olympics and said that both athletes were
not only inspiration, but also role models to
young girls across the country.
“Dalilah Muhammad and Tina Charles
are not just history making athletes who
have excelled in their respective sports,
they are also outstanding role models for
our young people, thoughtful citizens
and shining ambassadors for Queens.
They have always conducted themselves
with humility, grace and tremendous
poise,” Adams said. “I am proud to celebrate
their well-deserved gold medals
in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and
all of their achievements throughout
their illustrious careers. They have made
southeast Queens, New York City and
the entire country proud.”
Both, basketball great Charles and track
and fi eld star Muhammad, were honored
to be recognized and celebrated by their
community.
Charles thanked her high school coach
Bob Mackey, athletic director at Christ the
King.
“Personally, I wouldn’t be here without
him,” Charles said.
Muhammad remembered growing up as
a little girl with a dream.
“I worked really hard to get there with all of
your support along the way,” Muhammad said.
Th e young student-athletes were excited to
see their idols in real life and were encouraged
to work hard to make it to the top.
Chase Cineus, a 14-year-old who swims,
plays basketball and runs the 400- and
800-meter track, said it was great to participate
in these sports and win awards.
“I see Olympians that live in my neighborhood,
and I feel like I’m able to do that as
well,” Cineus said.
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards presents Olympic gold medal winners Tina Charles and
Dalilah Muhammad with the key to Queens on Oct. 1.
2021 Junior Olympians from the Metro Eagles youth track and fi eld team attend the celebration in
honor of Olympic gold medalists Tina Charles and Dalilah Muhammad.
Olympic gold medal winner Tina Charles delivers
remarks.
Olympic gold medal winner Dalilah Muhammad
delivers remarks.
/WWW.QNS.COM
