Competition

Civil rights icon John Lewis, who recently passed at the age of 80, had a saying that there is nothing wrong with getting in “good trouble” for the right reasons. An example of this was in 1964 when a group of African Americans decided to use a whites-only pool at a hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. The hotel manager responded by pouring acid into the pool. One of the girls that was in the pool that day was 17-year-old Mimi Jones. The picture that was taken from that incident made the pages of the Washington Post and helped push the cause that got the Civil Rights Act passed that next day. In a 2017 interview, she said “I’m often asked, ‘How could you have so much courage?’ Courage for me is not the absence of fear, but what you do in the face of fear.”

Heroes and icons come in all shapes and sizes. And ages.

Ms. Jones dive into Civil Rights history came from her love of swimming. That legacy has been passed on to her son who helps kids learn to swim to this day.

Simone Manuel is the first woman of color to win an Olympic gold medal (2016) in an individual swimming event, setting an Olympic record in the process. I could not help but hear Ms. Jones, who recently passed a few weeks ago, in her post event comments.

” This medal is not just for me," she said. "It's for some of the African-Americans that have come before me and have been inspirations and mentors to me. I hope that I can be an inspiration for others."

Since winning an additional three medals (1 Gold, 2 Silver) in Rio de Janerio, she went on to win an additional six medals (5 Gold) in the World Championships the following year, setting three world records in the process.

"I would like there to be a day where there are more of us and it's not 'Simone, the black swimmer,'" she said, "because the title 'black swimmer' makes it seem like I'm not supposed to be able to win a gold medal or I'm not supposed to be able to break records and that's not true because I work just as hard as anybody else. I want to win just like everybody else."

Competition. It also comes in all shapes, sizes and…dreams.