Olympic Weightlifter Chuckie Welch Is An Icon For Black Girl Strength

Quiana ‘Chuckie’ Welch is showing the world that black female athletes are beautiful. But she didn’t always feel so confident in her own skin.”

When Olympic weightlifter and snatch American record holder Quiana “Chuckie” Welch stepped onto the platform at the Arnold Classic last March, she did so with more African pizazz than most of the competitors in the room.

All eyes were on her custom-made, legless singlet: Its kente-like design featured bright orange, green and yellow, while a black meshy fabric laced her arms and shoulders. It was a much more playful version of the classic, monochromatic uniforms most weightlifters wear to meets. Welch and her teammates decided to stitch up something unique for this competition.

To break the norm.

“[My team], we just wanted to have fun,” she told the Shadow League. “It’s …