Dominique Dawes may forever be identified as one of the “Magnificent Seven” from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but her impact on and off the mat extends far beyond that gold medal moment.
Dawes started in gymnastics at age six and was competing by age 10. She managed to score a place on the 1992 U.S. team bound for Barcelona, becoming the first African-American gymnast to qualify for the 
Olympics. Dawes ended up winning the bronze medal alongside her teammates. At the 1994 Nationals, she swept the board by winning the all-around title as well as securing gold medals in all four individual events. In addition to contributing to her team’s epic gold-medal victory, Dawes became the first African-American gymnast to win an individual medal at the Atlanta Games (a bronze for floor exercise). Dawes even managed to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
This three-time Olympian has kept busy since retiring from gymnastics. She’s worked as a multimedia correspondent for Yahoo! Sports during the Beijing Olympics and has covered both national as well as international gymnastics competitions for the likes of TNT, CBS Sports and Comcast Sports Net. Dawes also has made moves outside the broadcasting booth by appearing in the Broadway musical Grease as well as music videos for Prince and Missy Elliott.
Dawes is now making a name for herself as a motivational speaker. Sharing her personal and professional philosophy known as D-3 (Determination, Dedication, Desire). Dawes spreads her message of establishing self-esteem through positive body image coupled with a strong work ethic to youth and women’s groups. She also offers gymnastics clinics at facilities across the country, passing her love of the sport on to athletes of all ages. She earned her degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002 and served as president for the Women’s Sports Foundation from 2005 to 2006. She’s even been a spokesperson for empowering crusades like the Girl Scouts of America’s Uniquely Me campaign.
With her accomplishments in the gym and her dedication to inspiring others, Dawes proves why she is affectionately known as “Awesome Dawesome.”
Aimee Mullins is a model, actress and best known for being an extraordinary collegiate-level athlete. While you may first be shocked by her physical beauty, if you look at her “perfect” body, you’d see that she’s missing both legs from the knees down. Born without fibula bones, she had both legs amputated below the knee when she was a year old, but this certainly didn’t stop her from making her dreams come true and competing at the highest inter-collegiate level in track.
Most models doing the catwalk are worried about blemishes, or whether their legs are long enough, not whether they have them at all. Aimee was not hindered by anything and never used excuses. She was one of the first people willing to compete against “able-bodied” athletes in track and field and set major records running against the fastest college athletes.
On top of pursuing modeling and acting, she made sure to attend one of the most prestigious colleges, Georgetown and currently is the President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring young girls through sports. This beautiful, intelligent, articulate girl is currently on a New York billboard proudly showing the beautiful body she was born with, not trying to fit our culture’s unrealistic, boring mold of “perfection.”
She has a great sense of humor, has a different pair of legs for different occasions and doesn’t know the concept of complaining or wishing that her circumstances were different. She is the author of her own life and reminds us that we are all PERFECTLY FLAWED, and it is those flaws that serve as differentiation from the norm and are truly what make a person beautiful.
