Alice Dearing hopes more black people take up swimming after seeing her compete at the Tokyo Olympics. 

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4th August 2021 will be forever etched into British Swimming history. That morning, in sweltering conditions at Tokyo’s sun soaked Odaiba Marine Park, Alice Dearing became the first black woman to compete for Team GB in an Olympic swimming event. 

 

Proud as Dearing is by this landmark achievement, even she would admit it is “shocking” it took 125 years – from swimming’s Olympic debut in 1896 – for this moment to happen. 

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Two black men had gone before her – Kevin Burns at Montreal 1976 and Paul Marshall in Moscow four years later – but the significance of those appearances went largely unnoticed at the time. It is hoped Dearing’s accomplishment in an era of significant social change – fuelled by the power of social media – will have a lasting legacy. 

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“The Olympics was cool to be a part of and I hope it made people realise swimming is open to everyone,” says Dearing. “You don’t have to look or talk a certain way. “I hope it will inspire thousands more to think, ‘she’s got Afro hair, she’s black, she’s doing swimming and has made it to the Olympics, so I can give it a go’. 

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“If you want to race then that’s great, but even learning 25m is a really important skill which will open up so many opportunities to you.” 

“The water doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t know what your skin colour is.” 

 

Dearing began swimming at the age of four, took the plunge into club training when she was eight and truly “fell in love” with the sport from that point onwards. 

Her first competitive races took place a year later and while enjoying the “really nice atmosphere” she noticed there was a change as racing became more serious. That is where she faced the first of several challenges in her swimming career. 

“I’m not going to lie, it can be quite a toxic atmosphere at times,” she says. “You look back at the 10-year-old girls and wonder why people were treating one another in a negative way.” 

 

Dearing is keen to emphasise that this experience was not related to her race, simply overzealous pier pool rivalry. However, she admits she has “sadly faced racism” at times. 

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“A coach that I had no affiliation to referred to me as a “skinny n-word” to another swimmer which got back to me.” Dearing recalls. She refers to the incident now as just the “stupid actions” of another individual which “don’t deserve to have any weight in my life or career.” 

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Dearing also insists being black “never felt like a barrier” in the sport, but also adds; “I was a very stubborn person. I didn’t want to quit and wasn’t going to let anything stop me.” 

 

It was that focus which took her to regional and national youth successes before stepping up to win World and European junior marathon swimming events in her teens. 

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After missing out on an automatic Olympic berth via the 2019 World Championships Dearing was forced to join 47 other swimmers at the final qualifier in Portugal in June. There they endured a gruelling two hour 10km battle for the last ten Tokyo 2020 Games places. 

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An impressive swim and fourth place finish secured the 24-year-old a ticket to Tokyo. 

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Dearing was relieved. She had put pressure on herself to achieve her “dream” but also felt a sense of responsibility to those who had backed her historic bid. 

 

“The support was a huge privilege but at times it was difficult because some people were writing and talking about me as if I was already going to the Olympics and I had still needed to qualify,” she recalls. 

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“I knew deep down that people would be okay and still supportive if I hadn’t made it, but it was an amazing feeling to achieve it.”  

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The conditions in Tokyo were described by many Olympians competing in outdoor events as nothing short of “brutal” - with high humidity and temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius. 

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Marathon swimmers had the added challenge of competing for over two hours in water warmer than many would bathe in at home. 

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Dearing would finish her historic swim 19th. Fighting back the tears the Olympian admitted she was “truly devastated” by the result, insisting she was capable of much more. 

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“I was upset with my performance in Tokyo as I expected better from myself,” she states. 

 

“I typically swim towards the back of the pack as it’s an easier way to swim because you get more draft, but it’s also a dangerous way because if someone gets off the front and everyone is spread out there are so many people you have to catch up and overtake. 

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“I made a tactical error and it hurt, but it was also a massive learning curve.” 

Two months on from the race Dearing is adamant she can ‘rights those wrongs’ at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but she also looks back on Tokyo with slightly kinder eyes. 

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“Being able to represent and showcase black talent and potential in swimming is a cool thing to be a part of, as is the cultural and historical side too.” 

 

Dearing recently completed her Masters in ‘social media and political communication’ at Loughborough University and will now be able to focus on life as a full-time athlete. 

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That said, she has other passions – such as gaming – but she is also keen to dedicate more time to the Black Swimming Association (BSA), which she helped co-launch in 2020. 

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Sport England research revealed earlier that year, stated 95% of black adults and 80% of black children in England do not swim. 

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“We’re looking to promote swimming in a positive way and build a bridge between the aquatics community and black communities,” says the swimmer. 

 

“This is going from grassroots to the boardroom level, we need to make sure in meetings black people are thought about as well. Swimming can be made marketable to them, but it obviously hasn’t worked in the past so we’re looking to change that.  

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“It is a long job, I won’t lie. It’s a generational thing that won’t be fixed in two years, but whatever we do I hope it’ll make a positive difference for future generations in swimming. 

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“The work we’re doing already is positive and I’m super excited for the future.”