How Black women athletes are preparing their hair for the 2024 Paris Olympics

Black women Olympians say they’re excited to showcase their elaborate and natural hairstyles during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Black American women competing in the 2024 Olympics are in a massive spotlight — and so is their hair. 

Kendall Ellis, a 28-year-old sprinter, said she’s planning to highlight her kinky hair texture when she competes in Paris. After she qualified for the Olympics, she said, “it was one of the first things I thought about!” Ellis said she plans to wear a sew-in — hair extensions sewn over her braided hair — that is similar to her natural hair texture.

“I want to do a more natural-looking style, because I think it’s important to have that representation on such a large stage,” Ellis said.

As Ellis, a 400-meter runner, returns to the Games, she won’t be the only Black female athlete thinking about how she’ll wear and manage her hair. Competitors like water polo goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson and track athletes Brittany Brown and Anna Cockrell represent a swath of Olympians approaching hair care in Paris not with dread and uncertainty, but as an opportunity to showcase their personal styles. 

“If you look good, you run fast!” said Brown, who will race the 200-meter sprint.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-women-paris-olympics-hair-summer-2024-rcna161943

---