Making An Impact In And Out Of The Water
February 29, 2024 | The Frierson Files, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
During his four years swimming at Howard University, Miles Simon was regularly competing with and against swimmers that looked like him. The same was true during his days training with the City of Atlanta Dolphins club as a young swimmer.
Simon, who is Black, didn't think too much about swimming and race until he came to Georgia as a graduate transfer. For the first time, Simon said after practice Monday, he took notice that most of his teammates didn't look like him.
"It's actually funny, my story's kind of the opposite" from the norm for Black swimmers, he said. "I'm from an all-Black high school, all-Black swim team, and I went to an all-Black college for undergrad, with an all-Black swim team. So this is my first time, probably, in a predominantly White space. I feel like the most times I've been in a predominantly White space was when I was in a swim meet in club, or when I go to international meets.
"I never really felt like I stood out, honestly. I grew up not really seeing color, just seeing people for who they are."
As February comes to a close, Simon, men's associate head coach Michael Norment and women's swimmer Eboni McCarty, all African-Americans, were asked what Black History Month means to them as swimmers. Simon talked about how the national and international achievements of Black swimmers over the years have shown that "Black people can come to any type of sport, any type of environment, and still excel in it."
McCarty, a junior from Madison, Ala., said Black History Month provided an extra reminder to be thankful for those that came before her, including Maritza Correia McClendon, who in 2000 became the first Black woman to swim for Georgia. And she later became the first Black swimmer to make the U.S. Olympic team, in 2004, and then the first to win a medal.
"For me, Black History Month within swimming is super important. And especially with women. I think about Maritza McClendon — she's amazing. She's a role model. She paved the way for Black women in this sport, and she has a huge amount of my respect," McCarty said.
For Norment, a 16-time All-American during his Georgia career in the mid-1990s, Black History Month actually reminds him of the dinner table when he was young. His father, Nathaniel, is a longtime African-American studies professor at Temple University.
"The lessons on African history, Black history, U.S. history, that was daily dinner conversation. It was almost like February wasn't any different from any other month," Norment said.
Swimming at its highest collegiate levels is largely White and international, though there are some very good Black swimmers each year, At the lower, junior levels, McCarty and Norment said, there is more Black participation, but less Black presence in the top meets than they'd like to see.
"As a coach, you're aware of it and you're not. I think we're so competitive that we want to win, and I just love coaching everyone," Norment said.
Being a Black coach in a largely White sport means a lot to Norment, who grew up in New York before leaving Long Island with his father — the rest of the family stayed behind — to train in Philadelphia with Jim Ellis, who ran a predominantly Black swim club. Before he returned to Georgia as head coach Neil Versfeld's top lieutenant, Norment coached as an assistant at Georgia Tech for five years and founded the Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club and co-founded the Swim with a Purpose Swim School.
"I was so inspired by (Black) swimmers on my own team growing up who made it international teams. Being a part of that group, hopefully we inspired the next generation. ... It is very powerful to see that," Norment said.
"I think the thing that I can do for the sport in this current position is just be an awesome coach. I think so much of this is built on trust, and trusting that someone that looks like me can be on the deck and do well and coach well."
Simon made history while at Howard, becoming, in 2020, the program's first swimmer to ever compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He also graduated Magna Cum Laude, and is working on a master's degree in Kinesiology at Georgia.
"I trained a lot that year to make the cut," he said of reaching the Trials, "so when I made it, it was a sigh of relief and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I really was excited to see that all of the work I put in was paying off. And to be the second qualifier but the first person (from Howard) to go the the Olympic Trials, it really meant something to me."
In 1980, Randy Grimes, from Atlanta, became the first Black man to join the Georgia men's team when he walked on. He then left the team soon after before rejoining and competing for the Bulldogs as a sophomore. Grimes ultimately chose academics over swimming, competing for just one season before going on to graduate from Georgia with multiple degrees, attend medical school at Emory and earn a PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Grimes, who died in 2010, later went on to a three-year cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and taught for a while at Harvard before returning to the Atlanta area to become a partner at WellStar Cardiovascular Medicine.
McClendon, who achieved so much during her great Georgia career and internationally, has spent much of her time since then encouraging those that don't know how to swim, particularly minorities, to learn. As she often says, swimming isn't just a sport or activity, it's a life-saving skill.
For McCarty, McClendon's an inspiration and someone whose path she might like to follow.
"Back home, I would teach swim lessons and things like that," McCarty said. "And when I was teaching lessons, I was like, This wouldn't be so bad to do full-time. I think it would be nice for people in the water to see someone who looks like them on deck, as well."
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Staff Writer
During his four years swimming at Howard University, Miles Simon was regularly competing with and against swimmers that looked like him. The same was true during his days training with the City of Atlanta Dolphins club as a young swimmer.
Simon, who is Black, didn't think too much about swimming and race until he came to Georgia as a graduate transfer. For the first time, Simon said after practice Monday, he took notice that most of his teammates didn't look like him.
"It's actually funny, my story's kind of the opposite" from the norm for Black swimmers, he said. "I'm from an all-Black high school, all-Black swim team, and I went to an all-Black college for undergrad, with an all-Black swim team. So this is my first time, probably, in a predominantly White space. I feel like the most times I've been in a predominantly White space was when I was in a swim meet in club, or when I go to international meets.
"I never really felt like I stood out, honestly. I grew up not really seeing color, just seeing people for who they are."
As February comes to a close, Simon, men's associate head coach Michael Norment and women's swimmer Eboni McCarty, all African-Americans, were asked what Black History Month means to them as swimmers. Simon talked about how the national and international achievements of Black swimmers over the years have shown that "Black people can come to any type of sport, any type of environment, and still excel in it."
McCarty, a junior from Madison, Ala., said Black History Month provided an extra reminder to be thankful for those that came before her, including Maritza Correia McClendon, who in 2000 became the first Black woman to swim for Georgia. And she later became the first Black swimmer to make the U.S. Olympic team, in 2004, and then the first to win a medal.
"For me, Black History Month within swimming is super important. And especially with women. I think about Maritza McClendon — she's amazing. She's a role model. She paved the way for Black women in this sport, and she has a huge amount of my respect," McCarty said.
For Norment, a 16-time All-American during his Georgia career in the mid-1990s, Black History Month actually reminds him of the dinner table when he was young. His father, Nathaniel, is a longtime African-American studies professor at Temple University.
"The lessons on African history, Black history, U.S. history, that was daily dinner conversation. It was almost like February wasn't any different from any other month," Norment said.
Swimming at its highest collegiate levels is largely White and international, though there are some very good Black swimmers each year, At the lower, junior levels, McCarty and Norment said, there is more Black participation, but less Black presence in the top meets than they'd like to see.
"As a coach, you're aware of it and you're not. I think we're so competitive that we want to win, and I just love coaching everyone," Norment said.
Being a Black coach in a largely White sport means a lot to Norment, who grew up in New York before leaving Long Island with his father — the rest of the family stayed behind — to train in Philadelphia with Jim Ellis, who ran a predominantly Black swim club. Before he returned to Georgia as head coach Neil Versfeld's top lieutenant, Norment coached as an assistant at Georgia Tech for five years and founded the Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club and co-founded the Swim with a Purpose Swim School.
"I was so inspired by (Black) swimmers on my own team growing up who made it international teams. Being a part of that group, hopefully we inspired the next generation. ... It is very powerful to see that," Norment said.
"I think the thing that I can do for the sport in this current position is just be an awesome coach. I think so much of this is built on trust, and trusting that someone that looks like me can be on the deck and do well and coach well."
Simon made history while at Howard, becoming, in 2020, the program's first swimmer to ever compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He also graduated Magna Cum Laude, and is working on a master's degree in Kinesiology at Georgia.
"I trained a lot that year to make the cut," he said of reaching the Trials, "so when I made it, it was a sigh of relief and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I really was excited to see that all of the work I put in was paying off. And to be the second qualifier but the first person (from Howard) to go the the Olympic Trials, it really meant something to me."
In 1980, Randy Grimes, from Atlanta, became the first Black man to join the Georgia men's team when he walked on. He then left the team soon after before rejoining and competing for the Bulldogs as a sophomore. Grimes ultimately chose academics over swimming, competing for just one season before going on to graduate from Georgia with multiple degrees, attend medical school at Emory and earn a PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Grimes, who died in 2010, later went on to a three-year cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and taught for a while at Harvard before returning to the Atlanta area to become a partner at WellStar Cardiovascular Medicine.
McClendon, who achieved so much during her great Georgia career and internationally, has spent much of her time since then encouraging those that don't know how to swim, particularly minorities, to learn. As she often says, swimming isn't just a sport or activity, it's a life-saving skill.
For McCarty, McClendon's an inspiration and someone whose path she might like to follow.
"Back home, I would teach swim lessons and things like that," McCarty said. "And when I was teaching lessons, I was like, This wouldn't be so bad to do full-time. I think it would be nice for people in the water to see someone who looks like them on deck, as well."
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
Free / Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free / Breast / Fly
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