Simone Manuel became the first black female swimmer to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Swimming, in 2026.
Photo Credit: Getty Images from InStyle

Swimming at the Olympics is both an individual and team sport where competitors propel their bodies through water in either an outdoor or indoor swimming pool using one of the following strokes: Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly.

Swimming has been a part of the Olympics since the very first Olympic Games held in 1896. It was not until 2016 that an African American woman won a medal. In 2016 Simone Manuel became the first Black female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold. That year Manuel came home with four medals in all, also winning the gold in the 4x100 medley relay and silver in the freestyle and 4x100 freestyle relay. At the Rio Olympics her winning time also set an Olympic record and an American record.

It was around age 12 that Simone became focused on swimming and it soon became apparent that she had the ability to be special. She turned into a force to be reckoned with in and out of the pool.

She is an advocate for the African American community not only to learn to swim but also to explore it as an athlete. ABC News reported that African-American children ages 5 to 19 drown in swimming pools at rates 5.5 times higher than those of white children in the same age range.

“For the people who believe that they can’t do it. I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming. You might be pretty good at it,” said Simone. She hopes to help break the stereotype that black people can’t swim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, a black child is 10 times more likely to drown than other ethnicities. Why? According to a recent national study conducted at Ys by the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis:

64 percent of Black/African-American children cannot swim
Only 40 percent of Caucasian children cannot swim.

The study also reported that 87 percent of non-swimmer youth plan to visit a beach or pool at least once during the summer months, and 34 percent plan to go swimming at least ten times.

Manuel strives to be an inspiration for all swimmers and has shown resilience and determination in her fight for equality within the sport and society. We sure are inspired by her.

Image credit to original photographers.