CNN —For many nations — not least the US — the upcoming Paris Olympics will take place against a background of deep political and social division. If you saw any of the European Athletics Championships events last month, you may well have been struck, as I was, by just how many Black athletes featured on podiums. At the Summer Olympics, the USA team will also feature numerous Black athletes, including gymnast Simone Biles, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and the (current) fastest man on earth, Noah Lyles. As you watch the Olympics this summer, take note of the sports in which Black people represent the USA and European countries. So no, Black athletes are not naturally better at some sports — they take the narrower opportunities open to them and work incredibly hard on their self-belief to make it to that podium.

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Persons: Keith Magee, Keith Magee Arron Dunworth Terry Shoemaker, Emmanuel Karalis, Malaika Mihambo, Nikolas Liepins, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, Mujinga Kambundji, Italy's Zaynab, Ewa Swoboda, Artur Widak, Zaynab Dosso, Ana Peleteiro, Owen Ansah, Paola Egonu, Le, Aya Nakamura, Edith Piaf, disheartening misogynoir, Lewis Hamilton, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams, you’ll, —, laud Organizations: University College London Institute for Innovation, Newcastle University Law School, CNN, Arizona State University, European Athletics, women's U.S, Getty, Summer, USA, Trump, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Paris Olympics, Franco, United Nations, Serena Locations: Swiss, women's, Anadolu, Europe, Italy, Poland, Paris, France, Spanish, Italian, Nigerian, Malian