Maritza Correia (born December 23, 1981), also known by her married name Maritza McClendon, is a former Olympic
swimmer from Puerto Rico who swam representing the United States.[2] When she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, she became the first
Puerto Rican of
African descent to be a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She was the first female
African-American swimmer for the
United States to win an
Olympic medal. She also became the first
black American swimmer to set an
American and world swimming record.[3]
Early years
Correia was born and raised in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her parents, Vincent and Anne, had moved there from
Guyana. In 1988, when Correia was seven years old, she was diagnosed with severe
scoliosis.[4] Her doctor recommended that she take swimming classes and use swimming as a treatment for her condition. In 1990, her family moved and settled in
Tampa, Florida.[5]
Correia attended
Tampa Bay Technical High School and joined the school's swimming team. In 1999, she became the 50-meter freestyle U.S. national champion in the 18-and-under category.[6] She was also a six-time Florida high school state champion in five different events. Correia was a member of the 1997 USA national junior team that competed in
Sweden and the 1999 USA Short Course World Championships team that competed in Hong Kong.[4]
In 1999, Correia joined the
University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs swimming and diving team.[7] She aided the team when they won their title in the 400 m freestyle relay. She earned a share of the SEC Commissioner's Trophy for high-point honors. Correia was the first swimmer in
Southeastern Conference history to win an SEC title in all freestyle events. During her college career she was a 27-time All-American, and 11-time NCAA champion.[6]
National Champion, Olympics, Universiade
2000 US Olympic Trials
Correia hoped to participate at the
2000 Summer Olympics in
Sydney. She competed at the Olympic Trials, but she failed to make the team.[6]
2001 World Championships
In 2001, Correia won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and two bronze medals in the medley and 400-meter freestyle relay as a member of the U.S. team at the 2001 World Championships in
Japan.[6]
2002 NCAA Championships
In 2002, Correia became the national champion in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and was a member of two winning relay teams at the
NCAA Championships in
Austin, Texas. She set the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records with a time of 21.69 in the 50-yard freestyle, surpassing
Amy Van Dyken's mark of 21.77 set in 1994. She earned seven
All-American certificates and was awarded the Commissioner's Cup as the high point scorer in the SEC Championships.[6]
In March 2010, Maritza married Chad McClendon, and on January 1, 2012, their son Kason was born. On September 25, 2013, the family added a daughter, Sanaya Anne.[9][10] McClendon is a member of
Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;
Mallon, Bill; et al.
"Ritz Correia". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
Sports Reference LLC. Archived from
the original on December 4, 2016. Full name: Maritza "Ritz" Correia (-McClendon)