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Russell Dinkins
Inaugural Executive Director of the Tracksmith Foundation - Featured in the New York Times, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, NPR, Runner's World - Elite Athlete
Russell Dinkins is the Executive Director of the Tracksmith Foundation, a position he has held since December 2021.1 He is a racial justice movement leader, higher education advocate, creative strategist, and elite track and field athlete.1 Dinkins is known for his grassroots activism in saving college track and field programs from elimination, having successfully helped reinstate programs at four major universities: Brown, the University of Minnesota, William and Mary, and Clemson.12
As the leader of the Tracksmith Foundation, Dinkins works to create more opportunities for athletes and inspire broader participation in track and field through advocacy and assistance.34 His efforts focus on giving more people the opportunity to participate in track and field, believing that the sport instills values that contribute to a more inclusive society.3
Dinkins' background includes:
- Founding Activism & Action, where he created workshops in response to racial justice movements1
- Serving as an advisor for The Cannon Project, supporting diverse athletic and entrepreneurial talent1
- Developing legal strategies and leading campaigns to save track and field programs, which have been featured in major media outlets1
His work with the Tracksmith Foundation aims to address challenges in track and field, including lack of resources for youth coaches, threats to collegiate programs, and the need to protect and bolster the sport as a vehicle for providing athletic and educational pathways to young people.4
Highlights
Man, you never know what kind of impact you may have.
One of the coolest things that occurred during the #2024ParisOlympicGames was finding out that Rojé Stona, who won Gold in the discus, was a student-athlete at Clemson when I helped save their track and field team from elimination in 2020 and 2021.
To know that the work that I put in to save Clemson's track team played even a small role in supporting someone's journey, a journey that resulted in an Olympic Gold, is truly mind-blowing. So glad to have played my part in saving college track programs and the opportunities they provide.
#trackandfield #track #Olympics #Paris #discus
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Tracksmith Foundation has launched a national survey to gather information about youth track in the US.
We welcome coaches, administrators, and parents of youth club, middle school, and high school track programs to take our survey.
Please share this survey with your networks to help us learn more about what the needs are for youth track and how we at the Tracksmith Foundation can address them.
https://lnkd.in/gwGgywdb
#trackandfield #diversity #diversityequityinclusion #running #highschool #highschoolsports #AAU #usatf #highschooltrack #tracksmith
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