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Olympians visit Richmond

4/12/2019, 6 a.m.
Olympic swimmers Simone Manuel, right, and Maritza McClendon inspire youngsters, including 7-year-old Valerie Lewis, left, during Tuesday’s Splash Day at ...

Simone Manuel, right, and Maritza McClendon

Richmond Free Press

Simone Manuel, right, and Maritza McClendon

Olympic swimmers Simone Manuel, right, and Maritza McClendon inspire youngsters, including 7-year-old Valerie Lewis, left, during Tuesday’s Splash Day at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club. The swimmers took pictures with the youngsters, participated in a question-and-answer session and swam in a relay alongside the youths. The event was to celebrate and showcase the newly renovated aquatics center at the club, 3701 R St. in the East End. Ms. Manuel of Sugar Land, Texas, won two gold and two silver medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming with a tie for first in the 100-meter freestyle event in which she also set an Olympic and American record with a time of 52.70 seconds. Ms. McClendon, who swam at the University of Georgia, made history in 2004 as the first Puerto Rican of African descent to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic swim team. She won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.