BALTIMORE, MD.--- The 2004 Olympic Games are filled with history making performances, a vast array of come-back stories, world records, gold medals, and home town hero’s. An emotional, mental, and physical roller coaster ride these Olympic Games have become. Athletes from around the world came to Athens, Greece with high expectations and laudable goals.
The focus of the Olympic Games was heavily set on Michael Phelps, the 19 year-old phenom from Baltimore, Maryland. His face was in every newspaper, on various television commercials and popular talk shows, as Phelps is rewriting history by swimming an unprecedented 18 swims in a ten-day period. Phelps is setting Olympic history with each individual and relay medal he receives, becoming one of four men to earn 8 medals in an Olympic competition. As the focus was put heavily on Phelps, Malia Metella, another swimming competitor at the games, was writing her own history.
On August 19, Malia Metella (22), representing France, became one of the first black females to make an individual Olympic final in swimming, and yet little is known about Metella in the US. Metella, a freestyle specialist, has improved greatly from her US debut at Senior Nationals held in College Park, Maryland last summer. Metella finished 3rd in the 100 meter freestyle (55.84), 6th in the 100m butterfly (1:00.44), and 1st in the 50m freestyle (25.18). A great swimmer yes, but who is she, and where did she come from?
As the Olympic year was vastly approaching Metella became stronger in her events, dropping time at major competitions leading to Athens. On May 13, 2004, almost one year after Metella competed in the US, she took home the crown in the women’s 100m freestyle at the European Championships, in Madrid. Her time of 54.57, lowered her existing time by 1.27 seconds, Metella now finds herself in the finals at the Olympic Games.
August 19, 2004. The field was stacked with Olympic gold medalist Inge de Bruijn (NED), Lisbeth Lenton (AUS), and Natalie Coughlin (USA). As one looks at the eight competitors trying for Olympic gold, one cannot happen but to notice the black swimmer in lane six. Is this history in the making? Can Metella win an Olympic medal? Not in this race, Metella fell short of an Olympic bronze medal by .10 of a second to Coughlin. With no time to reflect on her disappointment, 12-hours later Metella is on the blocks once again, going for gold this time in the 50m freestyle.
The 50m freestyle is Metella’s best chance of getting her first Olympic medal. Metella had a great prelim and semi-final swim advancing her to the finals on August 21. Metella’s time going into that night’s final was a 24.99, this was Metella’s first swim under the 25 second barrier. Metella has already had a great experience at the Olympic Games, one thing that will make her experience most memorable is an Olympic medal.
The 50m freestyle is one of the fastest and most challenging events for the sport of swimming. This event can be compared to the track & field’s 100 meter race where the top performer at the Olympic Games holds the crown as the fastest male or female for the next four years. With the added pressure of having a good start, proper breathing, and a good finish, Metella sets her sights on getting to the wall as fast as she can. The end result is a silver medal. Metella was just .31 seconds behind Inge de Bruijn the reigning champion from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Metella’s silver medal is the first medal for a black swimmer in almost 30 years. Enith Brigitha was the first black female to win a swimming medal at an Olympic competition. Brigitha earned her first individual medals at the 1976 Olympics in the 100 and 200m freestyles placing third in both events. Although Metella was quoted as being the first black female to win an Olympic medal by the commentators during the games, her performance in Athens will be remembered for years to come, especially by the black community.
Metella joins a multitude of black swimmers at the Olympic Games. A black swimmer can be seen in almost every event, mostly representing international teams, competing in all strokes and distances. Maritza Correia, 23 from Valrico, Florida, a University of Georgia standout and graduate (03’), joins Metella in making her own history for the US.
Last month Correia became the first African American female swimmer to make the US Olympic team by finishing 4th in the 100m freestyle (54.78). Correia made her Olympic debut on the first day of competition in the preliminary heats of the 4x100 freestyle relay. Her split time of 54.74 was the fifth overall best time for the US which ended her Olympic debut that morning. The relay would go on to win a silver medal that night giving Correia a silver medal for her efforts that morning.
As the years go by and athletes continue to improve, black faces are becoming permanent fixtures at the highest level of play. More and more black faces are seen in sports like: tennis, golf, swimming, judo, beach volleyball, and rowing just to name a few. The stigma of white inferiority is beginning to fade with time opening the door for minorities all across the country. A picture once seen with pastel colors are now painted with all the colors in the rainbow, painting a Monet for the world to see.
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