FIU swimmers Nicole Frank and Oumy Diop earn opportunity of a lifetime at Paris Olympics
While the Olympics only happen every four years, two FIU swimmers came across a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Junior swimmers Oumy Diop and Nicole Frank represented their countries in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. This marks the first time in program history that FIU has sent two swimmers to the Summer Olympic Games.
Born in Grenoble, France, Diop represented Senegal in the 100-meter butterfly.
Although she was born in France, her family is native to Senegal.
“Each year, I go to Senegal for holy days, my family is there, my grandma is there and that’s where my connection is,” Diop said.
For Diop, the chance to swim for Senegal was a privilege and responsibility she was ready to take.
“It’s such an honor to represent my home country. I’m so proud of this achievement,” Diop said. “We all know the Olympics is the biggest competition in the world, so I’m very proud of it.”
Competing on the national stage in one of the most anticipated sporting events will make some athletes anxious. Diop kept a level head and enjoyed the moment for what it was.
“I’m just going to try to do my best and not put any pressure on myself. Enjoy the moment, it’s not every day that the Olympics happen.”
Diop’s path to this moment was not without struggle. She started her season dealing with injuries and catching up with her studies.
But Diop was not alone. She thanks the FIU swimming and diving team staff for the support they’ve provided for her.
“An Olympic year is always a tough year,” Diop said. “I started the season with some injuries but we have a whole staff behind us that helped me get through it. I had a bunch of competitions where I was outside of the country and it was hard to catch up on the school that I had to miss. All of my staff helped me with that and I’m really thankful for it.”
“I’ve been at FIU for a year and a half now and I’ve grown so much both as a swimmer and as a person. FIU helped me a lot.”
With her problems behind her, Diop entered the contest with one goal in mind for her performance.
“If I had to talk about goals in terms of the Olympics, it’s probably going to be a new national record.”
Making her second Olympic appearance, Frank proudly represented her home country of Uruguay. Born in Montevideo, she spent her entire life in Uruguay until 2019, when she left for the United States to train with a developmental program.
“Representing my country makes me feel really really proud,” Frank said. “It just makes me really happy, because I know I’m not only representing myself, but I’m representing my teammates, coaches and every citizen from my country that is watching and supporting.”
Beyond representing her country, Frank also represented her family and honored the memory of her grandmother, Angelika Rädche.
At 14, Rädche qualified to swim for Germany in the 400 and 800-meter freestyle events in the 1940 Helsinki Olympics. However, her chances were shut down after the Olympics were moved to Tokyo and World War II broke out.
“I know the story and how important this is and how proud she would be if she knew where I’m standing right now and the things that I’ve achieved so far,” Frank said.
Frank not only honored Rädche but also her other grandmother, who passed away in 2022.
“It’s really motivating for me to be able to carry on with that legacy and be able to live this dream for her, even though she’s not here with us anymore, I know she’s looking from above and the same thing with my other grandma.”
In her debut during the 2020-2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Frank finished with a time of 2:18.93 and placed 27th.
She reflected on her previous performance.
“I had a down moment, but now I’m coming back to where I was before and to have the same mentality and attitude that I had before about swimming.”
Having already competed in the Olympics, the magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on Frank. She enjoyed representing FIU alongside one of her closest friends on the swim team.
Diop also relished the chance to compete with Frank as the two have a close bond.
“I’m excited to get to swim in the Olympics with my bestie, Niky is one of my closest friends at FIU. I’m looking forward to having this amazing experience with her and being able to represent FIU there,” Diop said.
Frank, like Diop, also thanks FIU for its support.
“We feel a lot of support from athletics and the school since we qualified and I think that’s amazing. I feel like we matter to the school and to athletics and I think that’s one of the best things to receive,” Frank said. “It’s not like we didn’t know before that we mattered, it’s just the fact that they’re there to support us and wish us the best and be proud of what we’re doing, not only because we’re from the school, but because we’re good people.”
Diop and Frank competed in Paris with Diop going first.
Diop made her Olympic debut in the 100-meter butterfly on July 27, 2024. After participating in Heat 1, she placed fourth within her group and clocked in a time of 1:01.82.
Out of all 32 contestants, she finished 27th and claimed the second-highest mark among participants from the continent of Africa—only the top 16 swimmers qualified for the semifinal round of the event.
Frank participated in the 200-meter individual medley on Aug. 2, 2024. She finished with a time of 2:18:00 in Heat 2 for 27th place.
Both swimmers accomplished something much bigger than a gold medal.
For Diop, it was her first Olympics, representing her country and continent as one of its best swimmers. For Frank, it was the chance to honor the dreams and memories of her two grandmothers once more.
These two are just getting started.
This story was originally published August 4, 2024 at 9:01 AM.
