By now, we all know who Simone Manuel is—the first black U.S. Olympian to win a gold medal in swimming. It was a pretty historic moment for the U.S. Many Americans celebrated her victory, with news channels highlighting the momentous win and social media exploding with celebration. You've probably seen this floating around on your feed, too.
We love that Americans are already noting her victory as historically significant. That's why we're shining light on her this week. But this caused us to wonder—who was the first black U.S. Olympian swimmer?
That would be Maritza Correia. She started swimming at age 7 to help with her scoliosis and later made history by joining the U.S. Olympic swim team in 2004. At the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Martiza came home with silver for the 400-meter freestyle relay. Maritza also was the first black woman to break an American record in swimming (that was in 2002). At the World University Games in 2005, Maritza won four gold medals. (Source: biography.com)
Right now, you might be reflecting on an alarming fact in the previous paragraph: the U.S. did not have a black female on the Olympic swim team until 2004. That's only 12 years ago. Seems a little behind the times, right?
Swimming is a heavily white-dominated sport. A 2008 study by the University of Memphis' Department of Health and Sports Sciences showed that black people made up less than 2% of USA Swimming's members. That's less than 5,000 people out of 252,000.
Here's a scarier statistic from that same study: 60% of African-American children cannot swim, which is twice as high as the figure for white children. One of the reasons for this huge disparity is rooted in our country's historic segregation. Up until the 60s, pools were segregated, and the majority was built in white neighborhoods. These are the parents of our black children today; many adults who cannot swim don't encourage their children to swim either.
Right now, you might be reflecting on an alarming fact in the previous paragraph: the U.S. did not have a black female on the Olympic swim team until 2004. That's only 12 years ago. Seems a little behind the times, right?
Swimming is a heavily white-dominated sport. A 2008 study by the University of Memphis' Department of Health and Sports Sciences showed that black people made up less than 2% of USA Swimming's members. That's less than 5,000 people out of 252,000.
Here's a scarier statistic from that same study: 60% of African-American children cannot swim, which is twice as high as the figure for white children. One of the reasons for this huge disparity is rooted in our country's historic segregation. Up until the 60s, pools were segregated, and the majority was built in white neighborhoods. These are the parents of our black children today; many adults who cannot swim don't encourage their children to swim either.
We know that these strong women making swimming history, Maritza Correia and Simone Manuel and so many more, will encourage young black children to jump in the pool, learn to swim, and maybe even find it as their passion. It’s been amazing to see women from the United States and so many other countries continue to burst into the history books.
We hope black American girls will not let their minority status in swimming discourage them from pursuing their passion. We hope that with role models like Maritza and Simone, the path to success is a little less daunting. We hope that swimming continues towards inclusivity and equality, but in the meantime, we will continue to celebrate every success.
Source for findings from the University of Memphis' Department of Health and Sports Sciences study: nydailynews.com
We hope black American girls will not let their minority status in swimming discourage them from pursuing their passion. We hope that with role models like Maritza and Simone, the path to success is a little less daunting. We hope that swimming continues towards inclusivity and equality, but in the meantime, we will continue to celebrate every success.
Source for findings from the University of Memphis' Department of Health and Sports Sciences study: nydailynews.com