For most people, the first thing that comes to mind when seeing a picture of the U.S. Olympic swim team should be excitement for a group of athletes who get to live a lifelong dream.
But for a group of ever-bitter liberals, there is a problem with the U.S. Olympic swim team: It is too white.
The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials concluded Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the roster of U.S. athletes who will swim at the 2024 Paris Olympics was finalized.
A longtime swimming powerhouse, the United States’s swim team features stars such as Katie Ledecky, Lilly King, Regan Smith, Caeleb Dressel, Bobby Finke, and Ryan Murphy, alongside a number of newcomers who will surely make their mark on Olympic history.
In a post on X, Georgetown University law professor Janel George claimed the legacy of Jim Crow and segregation is the reason that so many people on the team are white.
“When people say that Jim Crow was so long ago, it’s important to remember the lasting effects of segregated spaces — like segregated swimming pools — and the continued impact across generations,” she wrote, sharing a picture of the team. “This visual reflects that legacy.”
Now, it should be noted that there are a couple of nonwhite swimmers on the team. Simone Manuel, an Olympic medalist from the last two games, will return to swim the 50 freestyle and participate in a relay, while University of Texas standout Shaine Casas will make his Olympic debut in the 200 individual medley.
While George is correct that Jim Crow was not all that long ago, the implicit nature of her remark is that the U.S. Olympic swim team is discriminating against black swimmers and she would rather have a more racially diverse team than the one who can win the most medals.
But this Georgetown law professor would never make the same remark about the U.S. Olympic track and field team, which is overwhelmingly nonwhite. Nor would she say the same about the basketball and tennis teams, two other sports that have a history of segregation but have a number of black athletes.
There is a saying that the U.S. Olympic swim team is the hardest team to make in the world. Only two athletes from a single nation are allowed to compete in each individual event, and there are only four swimmers on each of the seven relay teams, many of whom come from the roster of athletes who made the team in an individual event. In 2024, the U.S. Olympic team has a total of 46 swimmers, 20 women and 26 men, with a number of athletes, including Ledecky, Smith, and Dressel, qualifying to swim multiple events.
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The development of highly competitive swimmers and the breadth of talent in the U.S. is so robust that multiple swimmers who competed at the trials missed out on a spot on the team but would otherwise have had a legitimate shot at winning an Olympic medal. It could easily be argued that the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are, in some events, more competitive than the Olympics.
Swimming doesn’t discriminate by race. It discriminates only against those who don’t touch the wall first.
