Black History Month: Meet Eva Okaro, Team GB's first black pool swimmer

Swimming 01 Oct 24

Swimmer Eva Okaro made history and labelled her Olympic experience ‘mind-blowing’.

Okaro swam the second leg of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay at Paris 2024, combining with Anna Hopkin, Lucy Hope and Freya Anderson to finish seventh.

“It was so much fun," said the 17-year-old.

Before her Games debut, the biggest crowd the teenager had competed in front of was at the Luxembourg Open. Okaro stepped out in front of a 25,000 crowd at La Defense Arena.

"They [the nerves] were incredibly high. It was just kind of mind-blowing. I was more nervous than I have ever been,” said Okaro.

"I am honoured to be in this position. I think it's an incredible achievement just to have got here and it was so much fun.”

Okaro made history in the process. She is the first black woman to swim for Team GB in the pool at the Olympics.

Alice Dearing became the first black female swimmer for Team GB when she plunged into open waters at Tokyo 2020 whilst Kevin Burns holds the title for the first-ever black British swimmer after competing at Montreal 1976.

"I think it's an honour and privilege to be in this position and to inspire other young black swimmers to know they can make it all the way," she said.

"Growing up I didn't see many other black swimmers in the pool, obviously I had my sister there, but it has changed slightly now. I see more people at competitions but not loads.

"I've never spoken to Alice before but have seen her training at Loughborough a couple of times.

"To be the first person to do anything is really inspirational anyway so she is an inspiration to me and loads of other young black swimmers."

Okaro started swimming as a baby and quickly progressed through the ranks at her local David Lloyd Leisure Centre before joining the Black Lion and then Sevenoaks Swimming Club alongside her sister Izabella. She won 50m freestyle bronze at the 2021 European Juniors, her first foray onto the international stage.

In a parallel sporting life she played international netball, making the England Futures team in 2021, but an achilles tear in a netball training session effectively ended her second sporting passion and threatened her progress in swimming. She overcame that setback and made history in Paris.

Sportsbeat 2024

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