Former U.S. Olympic swim team member and medalist Maritza Correia was a guest clinician at Hamilton College's Competitive Swim Camp on July 16.
Correia earned the silver medal for her role on the 400-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece. She was the first African-American woman to make the U.S. Olympic swim team.
Correia helped the University of Georgia women's swimming and diving team to two NCAA Division I titles. She was the national champion in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and was a member of two winning relays at the 2002 NCAA championships. She set NCAA, American and U.S. Open records with a time of 21.69 seconds in the 50 free that year. Correia was an 11-time NCAA champion during her college career.
Correia was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moved to Tampa, Florida, in 1990. She graduated from Georgia with a degree in sociology. She currently works with inner-city schools to promote swimming for minorities.
