TEAMGOLDUSA

TEAMGOLDUSA Oral History Project

Maritza Correia McClendon

The first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic swimming team—and an ongoing advocate for aquatic access.

People of Color / Competitive & Water-Safety Leadership

Olympian: 2004

Maritza Correia McClendon became a pioneering NCAA champion, American-record swimmer, U.S. Olympian and Olympic relay medalist. Her work with Swim 1922 connects representation at the top of the sport to learn-to-swim access at the community level.

TEAMGOLDUSA connection: Her story is especially useful for connecting elite achievement with the question every club should ask: who gets the chance to learn the skill before talent can even be discovered?

Career & impact

Milestones worth understanding.

  • Won NCAA Division I sprint freestyle titles and set American records.
  • Became the first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic swimming team in 2004.
  • Earned Olympic silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
  • Has continued public work around water safety and representation through Swim 1922.
  • Remains an active speaker and aquatic-access advocate.

Why interview this person?

The question behind the medals.

McClendon can connect the full pipeline: entering swimming for health reasons, being one of very few Black swimmers in competitive environments, reaching the NCAA and Olympic levels, and then returning to community access and water safety as a central mission.

Interview preparation

Questions TEAMGOLDUSA would like to ask.

These are starting points—not a script. The purpose is to hear lived experience, including details that institutional histories often leave out.

1

What did it feel like to be one of the only Black swimmers in many of the rooms you entered?

2

When did you first understand the historical significance of making the U.S. Olympic team?

3

Were the largest barriers financial, cultural, informational, institutional—or something else?

4

What did coaches do that made you feel fully treated as an athlete rather than an exception?

5

What did people say or assume that made belonging harder?

6

How does Swim 1922 connect drowning prevention to competitive representation?

7

Where does the club-swimming “hidden curriculum” shut families out?

8

What should a team like TEAMGOLDUSA measure if it wants to know whether access is actually improving?

When an interview is completed

This profile is designed to become a permanent oral-history record.

Interview date & context

We will identify when, where, and how the conversation occurred.

Edited excerpts + full context

Short excerpts will link to a fuller transcript or recording when permission allows.

Corrections are welcome

Historical details will remain source-linked, and factual corrections will be logged rather than silently rewritten.

Published sources

Read the public record before hearing the oral history.

USA Swimming Foundation AmbassadorsExternal background source →Maritza McClendon public siteExternal background source →International Swimming Hall of Fame Black History resourcesExternal background source →
TEAMGOLDUSA profile URL: /dei/swimming/trailblazers/maritza-mcclendon/. A linked source does not imply that the athlete has endorsed TEAMGOLDUSA or agreed to an interview.