Maritza Correia (born December 23, 1981), also known by her married name Maritza McClendon, is a former Olympic swimmer from Puerto Rico who swam representing the United States. When she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, she became the first Puerto Rican of African descent to be a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She was the first 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 for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to win an Olympic medal. She also became the first

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

American swimmer to set an American and world swimming record.

Early years

Correia was born and raised in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. Her parents, Vincent and Anne, had moved there from

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. In 1988, when Correia was seven years old, she was diagnosed with severe

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

.BLACK HISTORY MONTH: NATIONAL TEAM PIONEERS
Her doctor recommended that she take swimming classes and use swimming as a treatment for her condition. In 1990, her family moved and settled in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Correia attended Tampa Bay Technical High School and joined the school's swimming team. In 1999, she became the 50-meter freestyle U.S. national champion in the 18-and-under category. She was also a six-time Florida high school state champion in five different events. Correia was a member of the 1997 USA national junior team that competed in

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and the 1999 USA Short Course World Championships team that competed in Hong Kong. In 1999, Correia joined the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Lady Bulldogs swimming and diving team.NABJ Sports Task Force
/ref> She aided the team when they won their title in the 400 m freestyle relay. She earned a share of the SEC Commissioner's Trophy for high-point honors. Correia was the first swimmer in

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

history to win an SEC title in all freestyle events. During her college career she was a 27-time All-American, and 11-time NCAA champion.

National Champion, Olympics, Universiade

2000 US Olympic Trials

Correia hoped to participate at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. She competed at the Olympic trials, but she failed to make the team.

2001 World Championships

In 2001, Correia won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and two bronze medals in the medley and 400-meter freestyle relay as a member of the U.S. team at the 2001 World Championships in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

2002 NCAA Championships

In 2002, Correia became the national champion in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and was a member of two winning relay teams at the

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. ...

Championships in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. She set the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records with a time of 21.69 in the 50-yard freestyle, surpassing Amy Van Dyken's mark of 21.77 set in 1994. She earned twenty-seven

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

certificates and was awarded the Commissioner's Cup as the high point scorer in the SEC Championships.

2003 World Championships

In July 2003, Correia earned a gold medal swimming in a preliminary heat of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the

World Aquatics Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are st ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

2004

2004 Summer Olympics

She earned an Olympic silver medal swimming the prelims of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in August 2004. Correia became the first female African-American swimmer to win an Olympic medal for the United States."1st African American woman to win an Olympic medal relects on the historic 1-2-3 Minority Finish at Women's NCAAs"
''

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 ...

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

2004 World Championships

In October 2004, she won a gold medal swimming the prelims of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the Short Course World Championships in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

2005

Correia attended the University of Georgia as a sociology major and graduated in 2005.

2005 Summer Universiade

In 2005, she won three gold medals at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter "U", inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the letter ...

in Izmir, Turkey.

After swimming

In March 2010, Maritza married Chad McClendon, and on January 1, 2012, their son Kason was born. On September 25, 2013, the family added a daughter, Sanaya Anne.An Interview with Maritza McClendon
, February 22, 2012. McClendon is a member of

Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on November 12, 1922. The organization was formed as a sorority in 1922, by seven African American women in Indianapolis, Indiana. At its i ...

sorority.

Highlights

*2004 Olympic silver medalist: 4 × 100 freestyle relay *First African American female to make the U.S. Olympic swim team *2000 NCAA champion: 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle relay, 400-meter medley relay *2001 NCAA champion: 800-yard freestyle relay *2002 NCAA champion: 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay *2003 NCAA champion: 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle *2000-03 27-time All-American *World record-holder in the 400-yard medley relay SCM at 2000 NCAA Championships *American, NCAA, U.S. Open record holder: 50-yard freestyle (21.69) in 2002 *American, NCAA, U.S. Open record Holder: 200-yard freestyle relay (1:28.74) in 2002 *American, NCAA, U.S. Open record holder: 400-yard freestyle relay (3:13.71) in 2002 *2001, 2003 two-time world champion in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay *2005 World University Games gold medalist: 50-meter freestyle, 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay, 4 × 100-meter medley relay, 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay *2006 World Championships silver medalist: 100-meter freestyle *2007 Pan American Games champion: 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay, 4 × 100-meter medley relay

References

External links

* * *
Swim Champions Fitter and Faster Tour

Arluck Promotions Agency

Parting the Waters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Correia, Maritza 1981 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers American sportspeople of Guyanese descent World record setters in swimming Georgia Bulldogs women's swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican female swimmers Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Puerto Rican people of African descent African-American swimmers 21st-century Puerto Rican sportswomen