His record-breaking swim made headlines in 2013, but not just for his time. With an African-American father and a Filipina mother, Lynch will be the only minority swimmer on the Cal team. The sport is overwhelmingly white, perhaps a result of the history of discrimination in access to municipal swimming pools. The modern-day result can be tragic: Nearly 70 percent of African-American children between the ages of 5 and 14 have little to no swimming ability, and they drown at rates three times that of white children.
Lynch appreciates the potential cultural impact of his swimming, along with those of other top African-American swimmers, such as Cullen Jones, the four-time Olympic medalist and the first African-American to break a world record in swimming.
“I think it would be cool to break down those barriers. Cullen Jones already got that started, but if I could help bring other minorities into the sport, that would be great,” Lynch said.
Why swimming? Thank his big sis. “She’s the one in the family who started swimming first, and I followed her.”