World Championships: Eva Okaro Talks Simone Manuel, Being A Role Model & Her WJR
When Eva Okaro dived into the water for the first time in Paris last year, she did so a split-second behind Simone Manuel in the adjacent lane.
Manuel was the first black woman to win individual gold in the Olympic pool when she touched first in the 100 free to share the title with 16-year-old Penny Oleksiak at Rio 2016.
Okaro penned her own unique line in history last year when she became the first black woman to represent Team GB in the Olympic pool, three years after Alice Dearing became the first black British female swimmer to compete at an Olympics when she contested the open water in Tokyo.
Eva Okaro: Photo Courtesy: Aquatics GB
Now the 18-year-old heads to the World Championships in Singapore where she’s entered in the 50 and 100 free and 50 fly, events that have been blessed in recent years by the likes of Sarah Sjöström, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell. None of the trio will be in Singapore with Sjöström expecting her first child and the latter two now retired.
When asked who she looked up to as a young swimmer, Okaro pointed to the impact made by Manuel.
She recalled how she and Manuel each swam the second leg for their respective nations in the 4x100m freestyle relay prelims in Paris in lanes four and five.
“I didn’t watch swimming when I was younger. I enjoyed the sport; I didn’t take it too seriously. I think that’s helped me continue to love it, not putting this pressure on myself.
“Simone Manuel is a big thing because she won the 100 free and she was the first black female to win an Olympic gold in swimming. Racing her in Paris was great, I really liked that because we were next to each other and we dived in similar times in the heat of the relay.
“The fact that me and Sara Curtis are good friends and I think she is really good now, her time dropped a lot. I think it’s just nice going into the meet and having some friends and people that I know that I can look up to or be excited to race and enjoy the process while I’m there.”
Eva Okaro: Photo Courtesy: Morgan Harlow/Aquatics GB
Curtis, the daughter of a Nigerian mother and Italian father, and Okaro each enjoyed success on the European junior stage in the sprint freestyle events, the pair sparring in the water but friends on poolside.
Both have gone on to navigate the transition from junior to senior waters as they made their Olympic debuts in Paris. Okaro swam the second leg as Team GB finished seventh in the women’s 4×1 free relay, one place ahead of Italy with Curtis on the penultimate leg.
Okaro spoke last year of wanting to inspire other young black swimmers and she’s comfortable with her role as a pioneer.
“It’s like a privilege to be in this role. I do think that I like to be a role model especially to young girls of any ethnicity, any colour, it doesn’t matter. But I just think that it’s nice to know that I’m not in this alone as well because they don’t only look up to me but they encourage me and want to see me do well. I think that is also a big thing, knowing that there are people behind me that I don’t even know who believe in me, I think that helps a lot with my confidence and being able to perform.”
She added: “At British champs I was stopped a couple of times by little girls who were telling me that they keep swimming because of me which is really nice.”
Processing Her World Junior Record
After competing in a final on her Olympic debut, Okaro travelled to Budapest for the World Short Course Championships in December.
There she swam the fly leg, joining Abbie Wood, Angharad Evans and Freya Anderson as the British quartet won silver in the women’s 4×100 medley relay.
That followed the 50 free final where she broke the world junior record, going 23.66 en-route to fourth while shaving 0.03 off Anastasyia Shkurdai‘s previous mark of 23.69 from 2020.
Okaro became the second-fastest British swimmer all-time, just 0.22 seconds off the national record of 23.44 that has stood to Fran Halsall since 2009.
“It did take me a long time to process that world junior record and I think it only sunk in once I got the certificate. It’s one of the best meets I’ve been to and that medal in the relay was really unexpected. It was fun, I think that is the main thing – I went into it really confident; I enjoyed it a lot more and had a lot more fun with it and it wasn’t too serious so I got best results out of it.”
Looking To Singapore After Focus On A Levels
l-r: Abbie Wood, Angharad Evans, Eva Okaro & Freya Anderson: Photo Courtesy: Aquatics GB
The 50 free is the event in which she has most confidence. She posted 24.48 at trials in April to book her place in Singapore and also claimed gold in the 50 fly in 26.19. Okaro also collected silver in the 100 free (54.20) and bronze in the 100 fly in 58.46.
Okaro isn’t sure whether she’ll compete in all three events in which she’s entered given she took time out of the water to complete her A Levels at Repton School.
“It depends how I feel,” she said. “Because of the week and half I had off I’m not 100 per cent confident I can deliver my best performance in all three events and all the relays I’m going to be in. At trials I still got a PB in the 100 free on the last day: it wasn’t as fast as I’d have liked to have gone but the preparation for that made it easier for me. I did feel really tired on the last day but it was a good performance and outcome as I did get a PB. In the long run I’m not too sure if that week and a half is going to have a major effect.
“I’m just really excited to get there and get stuck in.”
