RIO DE JANEIRO _ Naomy Grand'Pierre, a sophomore at the University of Chicago, made history Friday by becoming the first female swimmer from Haiti to compete in the Olympics.
Grand'Pierre finished 56th out of 88 in the 50-meter race, after coming in second in her heat. She posted a time of 27.46 seconds, about 3 seconds off the top time.
"It's not my fastest time," she said. "I wish I could have gone faster, but I'm not going to complain. I'm super honored to have be and be a part of the Olympics."
The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Grand'Pierre did not arrive at the Games expecting to win a medal. Instead, she hoped to inspire other Haitian girls to learn to swim. Despite living on an island, only one percent of Haitian children know how to swim, according to the country's Olympic federation.
"That's my No. 1 priority," Grand'Pierre said. "I want to give back. I want to grow the sport in Haiti."
U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel, who won Gold Thursday in the 100 meters, qualified for Friday night's semifinal races after finishing 11th in the preliminary heats earlier in the day. Manuel is the first black swimmer from the United States to win an individual swimming medal at the Olympics.
"Coming into my first Olympics I didn't think I was going to be getting a gold medal individually. My goal was just to get more experience, swim as fast as I can," she said. "Just surpassing that goal and getting an American record on top of a gold medal is super exciting for me."
