Lia Neal (born February 13, 1995) is an American former professional

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specialized in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

events. In her Olympic debut at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, she won a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In 2016, she won a silver medal in the same event at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. She was the second female

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

swimmer to make a U.S. Olympic team.

Early life

Lia Neal was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York in 1995, the daughter of Siu and Jerome Neal. Lia Neal is of African and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

descent.Rogers, Katie (August 12, 2016)
"A Closer Look at Simone Manuel, Olympic Medalist, History Maker"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved July 21, 2021. She started swimming when she was six years old in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in New York City, where she was a member of the club swim team, Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics.

Career

2008 US Olympic Trials

Neal competed at the 2008 US Olympic Trials in swimming in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

from June to July 2008 when she was 13 years old. She ranked 28th in the 50-meter freestyle and 78th in the 100-meter freestyle.

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

(July 6, 2008)
"2008 Olympic Trials Results"
''

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

''. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

2012

2012 US Olympic Trials

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, Neal made the U.S. Olympic team by finishing fourth in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 54.33 seconds, which qualified her to swim in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Neal was 17 years old when she became the second female African-American swimmer to qualify for a U.S. Olympic swimming team."Lia Neal, 17-Year-Old Swimmer, Becomes 2nd African-American Woman To Make Olympic Swim Team"
''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''. July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021. She was also highlighted for the geographical diversity she brought to the U.S. Olympic swimming team as she was not from a warm-weather state, such as

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where U.S. Olympic swimmers typically come from."NYC's Lia Neal becomes 2nd African-Americas woman to make US Olympic swim team"
''The Philadelphia Sunday Sun''. July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

in London, Neal won a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

Jessica Hardy Jessica Adele Hardy Meichtry (born March 12, 1987) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle events. Hardy earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley r ...

and

Allison Schmitt Allison Rodgers Schmitt (born June 7, 1990) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. She is a four-time Olympian and a ten-time Olympic medalist. In her Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sc ...

, with the U.S. team finishing third behind the teams from Australia and the Netherlands. Swimming the third leg, Neal had a split of 53.65 seconds and the U.S. team finished with a total time of 3:34.24, an American record. Neal was chosen to swim in the final based on her performance in the heats of the 4×100-meter freestyle. Swimming the lead-off leg in the heats, Neal posted a time of 54.15. Neal made history with fellow African-American swimmers

Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimming (sport), swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and e ...

and

Cullen Jones Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle ...

by being the first three African-Americans on a US Olympic swim team with more than one African-American swimmer."Black Swimmers Have Historic Presence in London Olympics"
''

Atlanta Black Star The ''Atlanta Black Star'' is the largest black-owned digital publication in the United States. The publication is based in Atlanta, Georgia which focuses on the African American perspective on politics. It was founded in 2012 by Neil "Jelani" ...

''. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021. She was also a senior in high school and the first student from the Convent of the Sacred Heart since its founding in 1881 to compete in an

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

2015

In 2015, Neal became one of the first three African-American swimmers to place in the top three spots at the 100-yard freestyle in any Women’s Division I NCAA Swimming Championship;

Simone Manuel ] Simone Ashley Manuel (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional Swimming (sport), swimmer specializing in Freestyle swimming, freestyle events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals: gold ...

was first, Neal was second and

Natalie Hinds Natalie Anisha Hinds is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle and butterfly events. She made her international championships debut at 27 years of age, winning a bronze medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay at the 2020 S ...

was third."Three College Swimmers Make History At NCAA Championship: African-American swimmers took the top three finishes in a single event at NCAA Swimming Championships this weekend"
''

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

''. March 23, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

2016 Summer Olympics

In 2016 at

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Neal won a silver medal at the

in the Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, swimming in the preliminary heats of the race.

2017

From 2013 to 2017, Neal competed collegiately for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

where she was an 8-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion.

2019 World Championships

In July 2019 at the

2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July 2019. The city had previously hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade aquatics events in the same venues.

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, Lia Neal anchored the 4x100-meter freestyle relay swimming a 54.41 and winning a silver medal in the finals.

2020

In April 2020 Neal shared a bit about herself and her efforts to widen the perspective of swimmers, including herself, outside the pool via a

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

podcast. One of the ways she has worked to make the swimming community more visible and approachable to those outside the swimming community is through her

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel.

(April 3, 2021)
"Swimming From Home Talk Show: Lia Neal on Getting to Know Swimmers Outside the Pool"
''

''. Retrieved July 10, 2021. She started the channel on August 19, 2016, and began uploading videos related to the diversification of perceptions of swimmers in March 2020 when she announced she was becoming a YouTuber.Neal, Lia Maria
"Lia Maria Neal - About"
''

''. Retrieved July 10, 2021.Neal, Lia Maria (March 8, 2020)
"OLYMPIAN BECOMES YOUTUBER"
''

''. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

2021: Retirement from competitive swimming

In May 2021, Neal announced her retirement from the sport of swimming.Sutherland, James (May 26, 2021)
"Two-Time Olympic Medalist Lia Neal Announces Retirement From Swimming"
''

''. Retrieved June 17, 2021.

Personal life

Neal is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, having been baptized at Sacred Heart Church in

Sponsorships

TYR Sport, Inc. signed Neal in 2017 as a sponsor of her

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

swimming career.Brien, Taylor (August 24, 2017)
"Two-Time Olympian Lia Neal Joins Team TYR"
''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''. Retrieved October 3, 2021. She earned an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Lia 1995 births Living people American sportswomen of Chinese descent American female freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Brooklyn Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2019 Pan American Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Convent of the Sacred Heart (NYC) alumni Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming 21st-century African-American sportswomen African-American swimmers Stanford Cardinal women's swimmers Harvard Business School alumni African-American Catholics 21st-century American sportswomen