Rebekah Colberg

Dr. Rebekah Colberg (December 25, 1918 – July, 1985), is known as "The Mother of Women's Sports in Puerto Rico".

Early years

Colberg was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico when her mother was only seven months pregnant. Little did anybody imagine then, that someday Colberg, whose birth weight was only four pounds, would break sports barriers for Puerto Rican women. Even though there used to be a lot of discrimination in sports against women, Colberg was to prove that women did have the potencial to be great athetes, if given the chance.

Colberg graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelors Degree in science and pharmacy. She received her Masters in physical education from Columbia University in New York and her Doctorate in medicine from the National University of Mexico (UNAM).

ports accomplishments

From 1932-1946, for fourteen consecutive years, Colberg was Puerto Rico's tennis champion. In 1938, she won two gold medals at the IV Central American and Caribbean Games, celebrated in Panama, in the discus and javelin throw events. In 1946, when the games were celebrated in Mexico, she won a gold medal in softball. While studying for her Masters Degree at Columbia University, she was in the university's field hockey and lacrosse championship teams. She was also a member of the undefeated women's basketball team of the University of Mexico.

Later years

In 1952, Colberg was inducted into the Puerto Rican Athletic Hall of Fame and the Puerto Rican Tennis Hall of Fame. Her cousin, the late Severo Colberg Ramirez, was the President of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes) from 1980 to 1985. She is considered by many as the greatest woman athlete to have been born in Puerto Rico. Colberg died on July 1985 in her San Juan and is buried in the Old San Juan Cemetery.

Honors

The City of Cabo Rojo honored Colberg's memory by naming a Coliseum after her (which became, in 1989, the home of what was Cabo Rojo's BSN team), and in Rio Piedras there is also a Rebekah Colberg Muti-sports Gym.

ee also

*List of famous Puerto Ricans

Further reading

* ZAMORA, F., & ESCABÍ, I. (1997). Autógrafo: seres ordinarios con vidas extraordinarias : guía del maestro. Colección Autógrafo, 1. [San Juan, P.R.] , People Television - book of a TV series (in Spanish).

External links

* [http://www.ciudadcaborojo.com/biografies.htm famous people from Cabo Rojo]