Well, in the UK we don't, generally, the term "track and field" and so the word athlete is usually associated with athletics ( ie. running, jumping,throwing).
Of course, the word athlete can be applied to any "physical" sportsperson.
As to black and white, so many of our great athletes have been the product of a black father and white mother ( think Daley Thompson, Kelly Holmes, Jess Ennis and Katarina Johnson-Thompson AND the amazing 17yr old double junior world champion Morgan Lake.