On August 13th, 1982, the legend Shani Davis was born, who later on broke many racial barriers in speed skating. Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, Davis loved to roller skate since the ripe young age of 2. This later led to him starting ice skating at 6 years old, months before his mother joined a local speed skating club. Then, the winning began for Davis, where he won some regional championships.
In his late teen years, Davis moved to Marquette, Michigan, to increase his training. Standing at 6’2, he had a disadvantage within the speed skating community, with skaters usually being shorter, but that never stopped Davis. His talent allowed him to qualify for the US short and long track teams for the junior world championships in 1999.
In 2005, Davis joined three other Americans to win the world all-around speed skating championship, but what made Davis special was that he was the first African American to do it. This showed the world that it was possible for anyone to follow their dreams.
Winning became consistent for Davis, who won the men’s 1000-metre long-track final at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Just three days later, he won silver in the 1500. Davis was not just winning; he was smashing records, also. In 2010, he became the first man to win gold back-to-back. Big race wins continued to rack up for Davis before he wrapped up his career in 2019. After retirement, Davis became a coach and trained other skaters.
Shani Davis made such an impact on speed skating with racing in short and long distance races. The character Frozone in the Incredibles movies is based on Shani Davis and his skating career. Frozone is an African American superhero in the movie who holds ice powers. Even with his career wrapping up and now being behind the scenes, Frozone, his records, and winnings still keep his name around in many speed skating conversations around the world.
