Britain’s best in the open water shares her experiences of racism in swimming and how she is breaking barriers for black people to take up the sport
It sounds scarcely believable in modern, multiracial Britain but nearly a century after the sprinter Jack London became the first black athlete to win an Olympic medal for Britain in 1928, and more than 40 years since Viv Anderson became the first black footballer to start for England, Team GB has never sent a black swimmer to an Olympic Games. Not one.
But next summer Alice Dearing, a 23-year-old from Birmingham who is Britain’s best open-water swimmer, intends to flip 125 years of history on its head in Tokyo – the small matter of a global pandemic permitting. And, as becomes clear over a thought-provoking and nuanced conversation, that is only the start of her ambitions.
“Being a poster girl for black swimming is exciting, because genuinely I love the sport and I want to see as many people doing it as possible,” Dearing says. “But it’s also terrifying because there’s a lot of pressure. I have rationalised it – if not me, then who? And I want this to happen as soon as possible, to break that barrier.”
Written by Sean Ingle
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/14/alice-dearing-i-dont-want-to-always-be-referred-to-as-the-black-swimmer-from-britain under the title “
“. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
