Reviewed by: Caleb Turrentine
How Alabama native Vonetta Flowers made history at the Winter Olympics
Reading time: 3 minutes
When people picture the Winter Olympics, snowy mountain towns usually come to mind instead of the state of Alabama.
But in 2002, one Birmingham native changed that forever.
Vonetta Flowers became a trailblazer on the world stage, making Olympic history and putting Alabama on the Winter Games map.
From Birmingham track star to Olympic hopeful
Before discovering bobsledding, Flowers was already an elite athlete.
She graduated from Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham before earning a track and field scholarship to UAB, where she became a seven-time All-American and won 35 Conference USA titles.
Flowers originally chased a spot in the Summer Olympics, narrowly missing qualification in both 1996 and 2000. Instead of giving up, she looked for another path to the Olympic stage.
That search led her somewhere unexpected: bobsledding.
Gold medal history in 2002
Just a few years after switching sports, Flowers qualified for Team USA at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Competing as the brakewoman in the two-woman bobsled alongside driver Jill Bakken, the pair delivered a historic performance. They won Olympic gold, became the first Black athletes from any country to win gold in a Winter Olympics event and became the first athlete from Alabama to win a Winter Olympic medal.
The moment secured Flowers’ place in Olympic and Alabama sports history.
Honors and legacy back home
Flowers’ influence stretches far beyond a single race.
She was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and later into the UAB Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, recognizing both her collegiate dominance and Olympic achievement.
Her legacy also continued in Birmingham. In 2021, she was named honorary co-chair of The World Games 2022, helping represent and promote the international event hosted in her hometown.
Flowers has remained active as a speaker, mentor and advocate, using her story to inspire young athletes, especially those from places not traditionally connected to winter sports.
A historic moment Alabama still celebrates
More than two decades later, Vonetta Flowers’ gold medal remains one of the most groundbreaking achievements by an athlete with Alabama ties.
Her journey from Birmingham sprinter to Olympic champion proved that geography, expectations and setbacks do not define what is possible.
Because of Flowers, Alabama will always have a place in Winter Olympics history.
More than two decades later, Vonetta Flowers still stands alone in Alabama’s Winter Olympics history. Do you think another Alabama athlete will follow in her footsteps? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, Facebook + LinkedIn.
