Have you ever watched Olympic snowboarding on television and thought, “I want to be like him? The best snowboarder ever!” That would be Shaun White! His birthday is September 3, 1986. He was born in San Diego, California.
Shaun’s dream was to be a professional snowboarder. His family made lots of trips to the mountains when he was about my age. He was so fast on skis that his parents put him on a snowboard. When he was 20 he participated in the Olympics in the half pipe event. Shaun White won a 2 GOLD MEDALS in the Olympics. In the X Games he has the most overall medals. When he was a baby he had 2 heart surgeries before the age of one because he had a defect when he was born. The defect was fixed and now he can snowboard and skateboard. Amazingly, Shaun White is still able to be a professional snowboarder and skateboarder. His dream came true! Did you know that women could not originally race in the Kentucky Derby? Diane Crump changed that. She was born in 1948. She was raised in Milford, Connecticut. Diane Crump moved to Florida around the age of 20 where she had her first famous race at Hialeah riding Bridle ‘n Bit.
Diane Crump’s dream was to race in the Derby. Her two brothers, Bert and Ben did not support Diane. In 1970 Diane Crump went to the Kentucky Derby. Although Diane Crump worked hard she did not win. Her horse was named Phantom. Diane Crump came in 15th place in a 17 horse race. On the day of the Kentucky Derby, Diane Crump had to have police all around her. She heard all the mean things that the people were saying. There was a group of people saying, “Go back to the kitchen and cook some dinner!” in a mean way. The police were there to push people away and keep her safe. Nobody put money on her to win. I cannot even imagine what Diane Crump was thinking. Diane Crump was an amazing person and if she did not go into the Kentucky Derby I don’t know where we would be. |
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