The swimmer poised to make British Olympics history
Tags: Olympics, British, News, UK

Being the poster girl for Black swimming while also studying towards a master’s degree in social media and political communications might be overwhelming for some, but Dearing takes it all in her stride.

“The opportunity that I have with potentially qualifying to the Olympics as being the first Black woman to swim for Britain at the Olympic Games, this is a chance to really drive home these changes, this diversity and cements that swimming is a sport for everybody,” she adds.

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“It’s just about using my voice for positive change and I feel like this is the best year, well, it was meant to be year but now it’s ended up being two years to do it.”

Once the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted and local swimming pools reopen for the general public, Dearing hopes to see more people trying out swimming.

“It absolutely changed my life in the most amazing way so I’d love for other people to have those opportunities and just give it a try,” she says.

While she acknowledges the importance of her advocacy work, Dearing wants her legacy to be centered on her achievements as a swimmer instead of her skin color.

“I wish that race didn’t matter in the sport; it does matter,” she adds.

“But I really hope we arrive at a place where it is just like you just get in and swim and you don’t have to be seen for your color or anything like that.

“So, in the long run, I definitely just want to be remembered as a swimmer, not as the Black swimmer for Britain.”

“It’s a difficult challenge, especially with the setbacks of Covid. But I really think with the partners we’re working with, with having Swim England on our side, I’m really looking to connect with aquatic bodies not just in swimming, but across a whole range of sports to showcase that swimming is not just swimming, it’s aquatics in general,” she says.

“And learning to swim can open up a door, be it for being a lifeguard or surfing, or even just having a splash in a pool or in the sea on holiday.”

Dearing has also partnered with the brand Soul Cap, which makes swimming caps for thick, curly and voluminous hairstyles, like the afro.

Earlier this year, Dearing, a 2016 World Junior Open Water champion, co-founded the Black Swimming Association (BSA), a charity which encourages swimming participation and works to prevent drowning in Black and minority ethnic communities.

Over the next four years, BSA plans to reduce the percentage of Black adults and Black children who do not swim in England by five percent and also increase the number of Black children at school who can swim 25 meters by five percent.