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https://www.wsj.com/articles/olympics-water-sports-swimming-diversity-11628734254

Like many children raised in sweltering South Florida, Ashleigh Johnson learned to swim out of necessity because her family had a pool in their backyard. She picked up water polo by chance: she and her four siblings had boundless energy and the local recreational pool happened to offer youth lessons.

More than 20 years later, Johnson anchored the U.S. women’s water polo team in Tokyo to its third consecutive gold medal. She is known for her “brick wall” goalkeeping, but also for being one of the few Black athletes competing for the U.S. in the overwhelming white world of Olympic water sports. 

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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.