ESPN.com is running a column by Richard Lapchick about Anita DeFrantz, president of the LA84 Foundation. The article discusses DeFrantz’s influence in the Olympic Movement and her leadership role in youth sports in Southern California.
Lapchick writes of DeFrantz, “She is one of sports' true pioneers, both for her marvelous athletic career and for her position as perhaps the most powerful woman in international sport through her role in the International Olympic Committee. Her influence is written all over the Olympics … The focus of ESPN's coverage of Women's History Month this year is on young athletes in sports that are both traditional and non-traditional. DeFrantz's role as a positive influence in helping young women become competitive in sport makes her a perfect subject … I have no doubt that her greatest legacy will come from the millions of children who have participated in LA84, a foundation that she has led for 25 years. LA84 has undertaken programs to support sporting, health and fitness activities in Southern California and was funded originally by profits from the Los Angeles Olympics. Focusing on sports activities that historically have been denied to impoverished youth, the programs have helped jumpstart the careers of young athletes who became high school stars, won college scholarships, made Olympic teams and turned pro.”
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