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Dave Bolen

[[Gerald Ford]]"},"term_start3":{"wt":"April 22, 1974"},"term_end3":{"wt":"August 11, 1976"},"predecessor3":{"wt":"[[Charles J. Nelson]]"},"successor3":{"wt":"[[Donald R. Norlan...

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David Benjamin Bolen (December 23, 1923 – December 10, 2022) was an American track and field athlete, Olympian, diplomat and businessman.

Biography

Bolen competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in the 400 metres. He finished fourth in the final behind Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley and Mal Whitfield. In 2012, Bolen told The Boulder Daily Camera that "The Olympics is not something you train for. You have to have talent, world-class talent. You have to use that talent for the benefit of yourself and others."[1] Bolen first discovered that he had that talent when he raced other children during an Easter egg hunt during his childhood and found that he was faster. He later decided he wanted to use his "foot speed" to gain a college education.[2]

Bolen graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1950, and was the university's first Olympic athlete.[3] Before serving for two years in the Army Air Force in WWII,[4] he attended Southern University in New Orleans; after his service, he was recruited by CU Boulder track and field coach Frank Potts.[2]

Later, Bolen's career took him to the US State Department. In 1974, President Richard Nixon appointed him ambassador to Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana simultaneously, while keeping residence in Gaborone. In 1977, the German-speaking Bolen was appointed by President Jimmy Carter and confirmed as US Ambassador to the German Democratic Republic. He was the first African-American to serve as ambassador to a nation behind the Iron Curtain. He served until 1980. As an ambassador to East Germany, Bolen helped to lay the groundwork for the destruction of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, the day the wall came down, Bolen's daughter, Cynthia, was photographed handing a long-stemmed rose to an East German border guard standing atop the wall.[5] He also worked to help free Nelson Mandela from prison.[2]

Bolen died on December 10, 2022, at the age of 98.[6]

Competition record

References

  1. ↑ "David Bolen, primer atleta olímpico de CU-Boulder: Los Juegos 'no son algo para lo que se entrena'"" . www.dailycamera.com . 26-07-2012 . Consultado el 09-03-2019 .
  2. 1 2 3 "Corriendo hacia abajo un sueño" . Asociación de exalumnos . 1 de marzo de 2013. Recuperado el 9 de marzo de 2019 .
  3. ↑ Bugros), McLean, Polly E. Bugros (Polly Elise (2018-09-28). Recordando a Lucile : el ascenso de una familia de Virginia desde la esclavitud y un legado forjado a una milla de altura . Boulder, Colorado. ISBN  9781607328254. OCLC 1076877671 . {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: falta el editor de la ubicación ( enlace ) CS1 maint: varios nombres: lista de autores ( enlace )
  4. ↑ "David Benjamin Bolen (1923- ) • BlackPast" . BlackPast . 26 de enero de 2015. Consultado el 9 de marzo de 2019 .
  5. ↑ "La hija de un diplomático de Boulder recuerda el Muro de Berlín" . www.dailycamera.com . 9 de noviembre de 2009. Consultado el 9 de marzo de 2019 .
  6. ↑ Se celebra la vida del embajador Dave Bolen, el primer atleta olímpico de Cu.
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill ; et  al. "Dave Bolen" . Juegos Olímpicos en Sports-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC . Archivado del original el 18 de abril de 2020.
  • http://www.blackpast.org/aah/bolen-david-benjamin-1923
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20140212082044/http://www.coloradanmagazine.org/2013/03/01/running-down-dream/
  • http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=920399
  • https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=7770 Nominación de David B. Bolen como Embajador de los Estados Unidos ante la República Democrática Alemana.

8 de julio de 1977

  • https://www.dailycamera.com/ci_21168978/first-cu-boulder-olympian-games-are-not-something