Meet Anthony Nesty: Breaking Barriers as the First Black U.S. Head Swim Coach at the 2024 Paris Olympics
As we wrap up the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is crucial to highlight the Black athletes making history. Anthony Nesty, the legendary Surinamese swimmer, made waves this year as the first Black U.S. head swim coach. Here are five things you should know about him!
Nesty is Trinidadian.
Nesty was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in 1967. He is the youngest of five children. His family migrated to Suriname when he was only seven months old.
He started swimming when he was five years old.
Nesty trained and competed in Suriname during his teenage years. He represented Suriname alongside his sister, Pauline, at the 1983 Pan American Games. He also placed twenty-first in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at just 16 years old. Shortly after, Nesty enrolled in The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, a prep school known for training elite, world-class swimmers.
The 56-year-old was the first Black male swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, Nesty became the only Olympic medal winner from Suriname and after winning his Olympic gold medal, he was unbeaten in that 100-meter butterfly event for three years. He was the first Black male athlete and only the second Black athlete to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming after Enith Brigitha at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and only the second South American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal after Alberto Zorrilla in the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Nesty is the head coach of University of Florida’s men’s and women’s swim team.
Nesty is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators men's and women's swim team at the University of Florida, where he attended school. He is also the personal coach of some notable swimmers including Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, and Kieran Smith.
He is now the first Black U.S. head swim coach at the Olympics.
In September 2023, Nesty was named the head coach for the U.S. Men's Swimming team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On Sunday (Aug. 4), Bobby Finke won gold and set a world record in the 1,500-meter, which gave Team USA a huge boost on the final night of swimming at the Olympics.
