Tonight we feature a very decorated swim hero.

Sabir Muhammad was the first black swimmer to set an American record. He did this in 1997, swimming the short course 100 M fly.

Muhammad was a very decorated swimmer with several other ‘firsts’ under his belt: 1. In 1994, he became first Black swimmer to compete on the Varsity men’s swim team at Stanford University
2. In 1995, he was the first black swimmer to qualify for the Pan-Pacific Games.
3. While on the resident swim team at the Olympic training center, he was the first recipient of the William E. Simon Olympic Endowment award, and voted US Olympic Center’s Athlete of the Month.
4. In 1999, he competed in the Pan-Pacific Games, becoming the first Black co-captain of a US International Swim Team.
5. In 2000, he competed in the World Short Course Championships where he became the first black swimmer to win a medal at a major International swimming competition.

The 6 foot 7 inch swimmer was something of a media darling, featured in a 1999 episode of Baywatch, the 2001 Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Edition, as well as various magazines and television news programs.

Muhammad takes swim literacy so seriously that he started ‘Swim for Life!’ to teach Atlanta youths to swim.