Anthony Ervin

Anthony Ervin was a pure sprint freestyler who competed at three Olympics over a 16-year span, starting at Sydney in 2000 and then coming back in 2012 at London, after missing the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. His gold medals in the 50 metre freestyle in 2000 and 2016, 16 years apart, is the largest gap ever in winning gold medals in Olympics swimming.

Ervin had some African descent, Ashkenazi Jewish descent on his mother’s side and African-American and Indian-American descent on his father’s side, and was the first Black USA swimmer to win an individual gold medal in swimming, which he did with his 50 free gold at Sydney. Ervin retired in 2003, at age 22, but began to train again in 2011, leading to him making the 2012 and 2016 Olympic teams. In the interregnum he went to college at U Cal Berkeley, graduating in 2010 with a degree in English. As someone who struggled with Tourette Syndrome as a youth, he served as an ambassador for the Tourette Association of America in 2017-18.

Outside of the Olympics Ervin’s medal record is extensive. He won the 50 metre and 100 metre freestyles at the 2001 World Championships and then returned in 2013 at the Worlds to win silver in the 4x100 free relay. He won four silver medals at the Pan Pacific Championships, placing second in the 50 freestyle and the 4x100 free relay in both 2002 and 2014. He has three medals from the short-course Worlds, all in 2012, with golds in the 4x100 free relay and the medley relay, and a bronze medal in the 50 metre freestyle. In 2017 Ervin competed at the Maccabiah Games, winning gold in the 50 and 100 freestyles and the medley relay, and a silver in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. In 2003 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.