Who is Eva Okaro? Team GB swimmer makes Olympics history in the pool

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Great Britain’s Eva Okaro made history on the opening day of the Olympics swimming competition as she became Team GB’s first Black female swimmer in the pool.

Okaro was part of Team GB’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that safely progressed to tonight’s final in Paris after finishing second in their heat this morning.

Okaro, 17, is the first Black female to represent Team GB in the pool after Alice Dearing competing in the open-water event in Tokyo three years ago.

From Sevenoaks, Okaro grew up swimming with her twin sister Izabella and booked a place at the Olympics with her performances at the GB Swimming Championships.

"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 (Izabella) there, but it has changed slightly now."

Along with Anna Hopkin, Lucy Hope and Freya Anderson, Okaro will be part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle team that goes for a medal in Saturday’s final in Paris.

The team qualified seventh overall, with Australia, the United States and China offering strong competition after finishing as the top three in the heats.