Maritza Correia McClendon became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho in 2013. As the first African-American woman to be a member of an Olympic swim team, she is an integral part of Sigma Gamma Rho’s Swim 1922 program, a partnership between the sorority and USA Swimming. According to USA Swimming, 70% of African-American children and 60% of Hispanic children do not know how to swim.
The goal of Swim 1922 is to “increase swim participation and decrease drowning rates in the community. In keeping with USA Swimming’s core objectives: Build the Base – Promote the Sport – Achieve Competitive Success and the Sigma Gamma Rho motto of Greater Service, Greater Progress, these organizations come together to effect change and influence the community of black women and girls.”
Before she was on the U.S. Olympic team, she swam for the University of Georgia. In 2002, at the Women’s NCAA Championships, McClendon was the first African-American swimmer to break an American swimming record. She is a member of the Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame, and she won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games, in the 400 freestyle relay.
