Lia Neal is a 21-year-old Brooklyn, New York native and Simone Manuel, 19, from Sugar Land, Texas, will both compete on the USA Ladies Swim team in the 4×100 freestyle. This is the first time two Black women will compete on the U.S. Swim Team at the same time. In addition to the relay, Manuel will also compete in the 40-meter freestyle.
The two ladies are good friends and teammates on the Stanford University swim team. This is the second Olympics for Neal. She won a bronze medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay at the 2012 Olympics in London.
On the men’s team, former Olympian medalists Cullen Jones just missed making this year’s team. Jones, the winner of four Olympic medals, used his position as a platform to create awareness for inner-city swimming. This may be the end for competitive swimming for the 32-year-old.
