NFL
By: Zachary Draves
The fifth day of the Olympic Swimming Trials started off with a major shock as well as social justice related moments.
The shock came in the Women’s 100 Meter Freestyle semifinal where Simone Manuel, who won gold in Rio in 2016 in this event, wasn’t able to make the cut by a mere .02 seconds.
(Courtesy: NBC Sports)
She still has the 50 meter freestyle to look ahead to this weekend to solidify her place on the team.
Afterward, Simone spoke with such candidness and genuine emotion about what she has gone through this past year in terms of her mental well being, her commitment to social justice, and her ongoing battle with Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) which makes it harder for an athlete to physically recover from training or competition thus decreasing their overall performance.
Simone made history back in 2016 as the first black woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event and has become a tireless crusader for racial justice both in and out of the pool.
(Courtesy: People.com)
This moment of reckoning around systemic racism is particularly overdue in the world of swimming due to its scathing record on the matter and it’s crucial to point out that it shouldn’t be Simone’s sole burden to right the wrongs of the past whereas it should be all of us and particularly those who hold institutional power.
I’d encourage everyone to read this essay by Dr. Johanna Mellis and Dr. Matthew Holder that speaks about the longstanding history of white supremacy in swimming. https://tropicsofmeta.com/2021/02/06/klete-keller-is-not-an-aberration-usa-swimming-has-a-racism-problem/
The evening also highlighted the contributions of famed swimming coach Jim Ellis who in 1971 formed PRD (Pride, Determination, Resilience or Philadelphia Department of Recreation) which was the first African American swim team ever developed and the subject of the 2007 film Pride starring Terrance Howard as Jim.
(Courtesy: ISHOF)
He changed the face of swimming and the way to honor his legacy best is to dismantle ongoing structural racial barriers in and out of the pool.
It is not enough to celebrate his life but to finish what he started, which is the equivalent of celebrating MLK but not working to fulfill his dream.
The rest of the night saw Bobby Finke and Nic Fink punch their tickets to Tokyo.
Bobby in the 800 Meter Freestyle and Nic in the 200 Meter Breaststroke.
Hali Flickinger joins Regan Smith in the 200-meter butterfly.
The results are as follows:
- Men’s 800 Freestyle Final
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- Bobby Finke of Florida goes the distance at 7:48.22
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- Men’s 200 Breaststroke Final
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- Nic Fink comes in at near world record time at 2:07.55
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- Women’s 100 Freestyle Semifinals Heat 1
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- Olivia Smoliga and Natalie Hinds tie at 53.55
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- Women’s 100 Freestyle Semifinals Heat 2
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- Abbey Weitzeil comes in at 53.66
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- Men’s 200 Backstroke Semifinals Heat 1
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- Austin Katz comes in at 1:56.26
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- Men’s 200 Backstroke Semifinals Heat 2
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- Ryan Murphy comes in at 1:55.60
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- Women’s 200 Butterfly Final
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- Hali Flickinger sets the new US opens record at 2:05.85
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- Men’s 100 Freestyle Final
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- Caeleb Dressel flexed his muscle to equal a US record at 47.39
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- Women’s 200 Breaststroke Semifinals Heat 1
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- Emily Escobedo comes in at 2:23.87
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- Women’s 200 Breaststroke Semifinals Heat 2
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- Lilly King comes in at 2:22.73
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- Men’s 200 Individual Medley Semifinals Heat 1
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- Chase Kalisz comes in at 1:57.19
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- Men’s 200 Individual Medley Semifinals Heat 2
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- Michael Andrew comes in at 1:55.26
