Maritza Correia, also known by her married name Maritza McClendon, is a former Olympic swimmer from the United States. When she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, she became the first Puerto Rican of African descent to be a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She also became the first blackAmerican swimmer to set an American and world swimming record.
Early years
Correia was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her parents, Vincent and Anne, had moved there from Guyana. In 1988, when Correia was seven years old, she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Her doctor recommended that she take swimming classes and use swimming as a treatment for her condition. In 1990, her family moved and settled in Tampa, Florida. Correia attended Tampa Bay Technical High School and joined the school's swimming team. In 1999, she became the 50-meter freestyle U.S. national champion in the 18-and-under category. She was also a six-time Florida high school state champion in five different events. Correia was a member of the 1997 USA national junior team that competed in Sweden and the 1999 USA Short Course World Championships team that competed in Hong Kong. In 1999, Correia joined the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs swimming and diving team. She aided the team when they won their title in the 400 m freestyle relay. She earned a share of the SEC Commissioner's Trophy for high-point honors. Correia was the first swimmer in Southeastern Conference history to win an SEC title in all freestyle events. During her college career she was a 27-time All-American, and 11-time NCAA champion.
National Champion, Olympics, Universiade
Correia hoped to participate at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She competed at the Olympic Trials, but she failed to make the team. In 2001, Correia won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and two bronze medals in the medley and 400-meter freestyle relay as a member of the U.S. team at the 2001 World Championships in Japan. In 2002, Correia became the national champion in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and was a member of two winning relay teams at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. She set the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records with a time of 21.69 in the 50-yard freestyle, surpassing Amy Van Dyken's mark of 21.77 set in 1994. She earned seven All-American certificates and was awarded the Commissioner's Cup as the high point scorer in the SEC Championships. In 2003, Correia earned a gold medal swimming in a preliminary heat of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the World Championships. In 2004, she won a gold medal swimming the prelims of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the Short Course World Championships and earned an Olympic silver medal swimming the prelims of the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Correia attended the University of Georgia as a sociology major and graduated in 2005. In 2005, she won three gold medals at the 2005 Summer Universiade in Izmir, Turkey.
After swimming
In March 2010, Maritza married Chad McClendon, and on January 1, 2012, their son Kason was born. On September 25, 2013, the family added a daughter, Sanaya Anne. McClendon is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.
