Ven US in orbit over Obama

Venus Williams broke with her policy not to talk about politics when she was asked her feelings about Barack Obama becoming President of the United States.

Williams, the first Afro-American woman in more than 40 years to win Wimbledon when she succeeded in 2000, usually follows the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses not to become involved in politics.

But Obama’s triumph in becoming the first US President with African ancestry - he had a Kenyan father - prompted Williams to talk about the sufferings her father had endured in less enlightened times.

“America is a wonderful place: I love my country, I love living there and I love my passport,” she said.

“But also it’s a country that since its beginning - especially as it is supposed to be a place where people were escaping intolerance - it became a country which was intolerant of different minorities and skin colours.

“It’s interesting because just my parents - my dad grew up in Louisiana in a place where he was called ‘boy’ and shown no respect, where he couldn’t say anything, and his mother was a poor shear cropper. So I am very close to things like in the past.

“So I think it’s amazing that America has an opportunity to have someone who is from a minority or mixed race, or whatever you want to call him. “And hopefully it will just get more people opportunities and more people to work harder and say yes I can do my best whatever my background is.” Despite this oppression, her father Richard went on to become one of the world’s best known coaches, guiding Venus and her younger sister Serena Williams, the US Open champion, to a standard where they could compete with remarkable success on the professional tour.

During their subsequent independence he has continued to provide assistance to outstanding careers in which the sisters have so far won 16 Grand Slam singles titles and a host of other titles including the gold medal together in the doubles at the Beijing Olympics.

At time of writing Obama earned 63.25 million votes nationwide and McCain, 55.90 million, NBC, CBS and Fox News reported, as final vote tallies trickled in.

As of 1630 GMT, with results given in 48 states and the District of Columbia, Obama had secured 349 Electoral College votes compared with 163 for McCain. Missouri and North Carolina remained too close to call.

States are apportioned electoral votes according to the size of their population, and in most of the 50 states the winner of a state’s popular vote gets all its electoral ones.

Later Serena said: “When I think of everything Afro-Americans have been through, 40 and 30 years ago, and even today you read of ridiculous things which have happened in America.

“People see the importance of change and supporting someone who believes in change....Just to see Obama with his wife and kids, and how they are going to be the first Afro-American family (in the White House). It takes words away. I choked up.

“I think of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X an Althea Gibson - she’s why I am playing tennis today - all those people. And Arthur Ashe, who also led the way.”

Asked if the presidential result might help her tennis, Serena said: “Yeah, I did feel a little bit proud out there tonight (beating Dinara Safina). It’s a great time to be black now in the USA.

“I did feel my shoulders were (back) and my chest stuck out a little more. In the back of my mind was, although this is a huge tournament, that there are so many big things going in in my home country and I would love to be there. But work beckons.”

DOHA, Thursday AFP