ATLANTA () — Olympic silver medalist Maritza McClendon carved out a landmark place in American sports history in 2004, when she became the first Black woman to qualify for a U.S. Olympic swim team. Long before that breakthrough, her path to the pool began in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after she was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 6 and doctors recommended swimming as therapy. What started as treatment quickly became a passion.
Over the next 15-plus years, McClendon trained and competed under Olympic coach Peter Banks, steadily rising through the sport’s ranks. Her career reached its defining moment at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where she earned a silver medal with Team USA. Today, McClendon uses that achievement as a springboard for advocacy, speaking with children and parents nationwide about water safety, swim education and the need to break down racial barriers in the sport.
That mission is now taking her to Chicago, where she is set to participate in the Chicago River Swim on September 20. The event will bring hundreds of athletes into the city’s riverfront waters while raising money for ALS research.
“I’m super excited to join the Chicago River Swim,” McClendon said. “I hope people will take away the power of how a community can come together for a great cause.”
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