Minnesota Female Olympians: Stories, Experiences & Inspirations

Presenters Janis Klecker, Carrie Tollefson, Shani Marks, and Dr. Doug Hartmann

October 22, 2008

The Tucker Center celebrates the participation of female athletes at all levels. This Fall, we are proud to celebrate an elite group of sportswomen in our midst. The 2008 Distinguished Lecture will feature a trio of Minnesota’s finest female athletes—Track & Field Olympians Janis Klecker, Carrie Tollefson and Shani Marks. The performances of Olympians inspire and captivate our imaginations. But the Olympics are not only about medal counts and wins and losses. They occur within a complex set of issues related to gender, class and race. To provide context for this complexity—along with acknowledging the accomplishments of our featured Minnesota Olympians—U of M Professor of Sociology, Doug Hartmann, will critique the Olympics in general and the Beijing Olympics in particular. He will share his own experiences of his travels to China followed by a discussion with our featured panelists in which we will learn about their life stories, experiences and inspirations.