Eva Okaro broke new ground in Paris on Saturday as she became the first black woman to represent Team GB in the pool at the Olympics, aged just 17.
Not only is Okaro Team GB’s youngest swimmer at these Games after being selected for the women’s 4×100 metres freestyle relay, she knew she was making history just by hitting the water at La Defense Arena.
She swam the second leg, in a head-to-head against the United States’ two-time Olympic champion Simone Manuel, and helped Britain into second in their heat at the halfway stage, a place they clung on to.
In competing in the French capital, Okaro joined Alice Dearing, the first black woman to swim for Team GB in the open water race in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, as a pioneer for her sport.
“I don’t really get distracted by things like that,” she told the PA news agency. “That’s one of my strengths, just being in the moment every time.
“But thinking about that now is exciting. Being the person a lot of young kids kind of look up to and I just like to keep trying to be that role model and try as hard as I can.
“The nerves were definitely there but racing against the American girl next to me, the nerves helped me just stick with her in the first 50m and just keep going.
“The first 50m felt quite easy but the second 50 just killed me. It was really nice racing with the girls and being at my first Olympics is a great experience.”
Team GB’s time of three minutes and 36.13 seconds – with Okaro clocking 53.84 secs – saw them finish runners-up to USA in the first of two heats although they were seventh fastest overall.
It was enough to secure a place in Saturday’s final, where Okaro, Anna Hopkin, Lucy Hope and Freya Anderson will be hoping to secure Team GB’s first swimming medal of these Games.
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