Reece Whitley, a prodigy in and out of the pool, aims for Olympic gold.

[pnwmom]

And this extremely gifted swimmer, with an amazing resume (and a talent for baseball, too) has a woman coach -- not the norm in a sport dominated by white swimmers and male coaches.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/sports/at-16-reece-whitley-stands-tall-in-and-out-of-water.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Whitley, 16, is on the fast track in school and swimming. In the classroom, his workload includes Mandarin Chinese and Advanced Placement courses in chemistry and algebra. In the water, he posted the seventh-fastest time among American men in the 200-meter breaststroke last year to establish himself as a 2016 Olympic hopeful.

Whitley will compete this week at the Atlanta Classic at Georgia Tech, a three-day competition starting Friday that is akin to a midterm. It will give Whitley a better idea of where his swimming stands heading into the United States Olympic trials in late June in Omaha.

There is so much more than meets the eye to the 6-foot-8 Whitley, an African-American in a sport that is becoming more diverse. The 2012 United States Olympic swim team included three black swimmers — Anthony Ervin, Cullen Jones and Lia Neal — all of whom will vie for spots on the 2016 squad. Last year, Neal helped make N.C.A.A. history in the 100-yard freestyle at the Division I championships, finishing second behind her Stanford teammate Simone Manuel and ahead of Florida’s Natalie Hinds in the first 1-2-3 finish by black competitors.

Whitley escapes pigeonholing. His teachers describe him as quick to smile and laugh, but his teammates see his scowling, fastidious side. He is one of the few national-caliber male swimmers to take instruction from a woman. At senior-level meets, his coach, Crystal Coleman, stands out on the male-dominated pool deck more than the towering Whitley does on the blocks.

SNIP

[JonLeibowitz]

1. How is Mr. Whitley a prodigy out of the pool?

I may have missed that in the article, or it was edited out by the NYT staff.

[pnwmom]

2. Did you miss this?

Last edited Tue May 10, 2016, 05:09 AM - Edit history (1)

Whitley, 16, is on the fast track in school and swimming. In the classroom, his workload includes Mandarin Chinese and Advanced Placement courses in chemistry and algebra.

Advanced Placement classes are usually taken by seniors (he's in 10th grade) and many colleges give college credit or advanced placement for them -- meaning, they can use the credits to bypass freshman year courses.

P.S. Mandarin Chinese is a very challenging language for an English-speaking high school student who hasn't been hearing Chinese at home. Reece is really stretching himself with that schedule -- on top of hours of swimming every day.

[JonLeibowitz]

3. Nope I didn't miss that.

Half the people I knew in high school started taking AP classes in 9th grade.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. Were they, also, taking Mandarian? And, ...

I suspect your high school was less challenging than the school Whatley attends.

[JonLeibowitz]

6. Only one was learning Mandarin (his parent's language, so that doesn't count)

Anyway, this isn't about me or my high school (in truth, I did not attend a high school). The point is that the title is not what the NYT reported, and taking Mandarin does not qualify one as a prodigy out of the pool.

The athletic accomplishments are impressive; don't take my posts as belittling the guy.

[kwassa]

4. Here is a pic.

[oasis]

7. We'll be seeing a lot more of this young man. nt