Sport: Hockey

Country: Canada

Medal(s): Gold (2002, 2010)



As a kid, Jarome Iginla developed an interest for both baseball as well as hockey. However, his admiration towards a black athletes, like Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr, resulted in Iginla not only playing hockey, but competing at the same position as Fuhr. In his teens, Iginla played for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League as a winger for three seasons until the NHL and more specifically, the Dallas Stars, came calling with the 11th overall pick in the 1995 Entry Draft. Less than a year after getting drafted, though, Iginla was dealt to the Calgary Flames. But this is where Iginla's career really took flight.

Prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics, Iginla was given an invitation to Team Canada's summer camp. Initially, Iginla believed that, based on how late the invite came in, one of his Flames teammates were playing a cruel joke on him. But this was the real deal. In 2002, Iginla repaid Canada for their offer by scoring two goals in the gold medal game against the United States. With the victory, Iginla became the first black male to earn a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.