Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in "U" shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
Jesús David "Jesse" Vassallo Anadón is a former competition swimmer and world record-holder who participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics for the United States. In 1997, he became the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. From 2004 to 2009, he served as the president of the Puerto Rican National Swimming Federation.
Maritza Correia, also known by her married name Maritza McClendon, is a former Olympic swimmer from Puerto Rico who swam representing the United States. When she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, she became the first Puerto Rican of African descent to be a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She was the first female African-American swimmer for the United States to win an Olympic medal. She also became the first black American swimmer to set an American and world swimming record.
Fernando J. Canales is a former freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico and swimming coach. Up until the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he was the head assistant coach for men's swimming & diving at his alma mater, The University of Michigan, and also for the USA National Championship Team, Club Wolverine, home for numerous Olympic champions and medalists. He is a member of the USA Swimming's International Relations Committee as well as the United States' technical representative for the Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas (ASUA/UANA). He is an assistant director of development for The University of Michigan Athletic Department. He then was the head coach at Colgate University. In his first season at Colgate, the women's team took home the 2011 Patriot League Championship, and the men's team finished the meet in fifth place. In 2016 he coached his home country Puerto Rico at the Olympics in Rio. Currently he is the head coach for Pitchfork Aquatics and Puerto Rico.
Andrew Joseph Livingston Conners is a butterfly stroke swimmer from the United States, who competed for Puerto Rico at the 2000 Summer Olympics and at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Cloister Inn is one of the undergraduate eating clubs at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.
Puerto Rico competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The American territory with a population of four million people qualified 22 athletes in eight different sports. The appearance of the Puerto Rican delegation at the Beijing Olympics marked the commonwealth's sixteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its twenty-second appearance at any Olympic Games, since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. Of its competitors participating in events that involve progression by heats, six athletes advanced at least one round in their events, and two advanced at least two rounds, with Asunción Ocasio almost medaling bronze in taekwondo. However, there were no Puerto Rican medalists at the Beijing Olympics. McWilliams Arroyo, a boxer, bore Puerto Rico's flag at the ceremonies.
Manuel Guzmán Flores is a former international backstroke and freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico, who participated in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1988. His best result was a 12th place in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He graduated from Bloomington High School South in 1989 where he was an individual state champion and helped lead the team to a state runner-up finish.
Todd Torres is a former international breaststroke and freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico, who participated in two consecutive Summer Olympics starting in 1992.
Carlos Berrocal is a former backstroke and freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico. He competed for his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Arnaldo Pérez is a former butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico. He competed for his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, aged seventeen.
Vanessa García Vega is an Olympic and National Record holding freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico. She swam for her native country at the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics.
David V. Monasterio Ruiz is a former international freestyle and butterfly swimmer from Puerto Rico, who participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics for his native country. He won three relay medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba. He has three brothers, Eric, Eugenio, and Manuel. David attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and earned an MBA from Indiana University Bloomington.
Kristina Lennox-Silva is a female freestyle and butterfly swimmer from Puerto Rico, who was born in the United States. During her college career she swam for Villanova University and was a multiple time Big East finalist as well earning her All-Big East status. She represented Puerto Rico at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy. She is the sister of Douglas Lennox-Silva, who also competed as a swimmer at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2009 World Championships.
Anita Lallande was a Puerto Rican Olympic swimmer, who holds the record for the most medals won at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Eliot Chenaux born on April 11, 1947, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a former academic and competitive swimmer who competed with the Puerto Rican team in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also swam for Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games in São Paulo in 1963 and in Winnipeg in 1967.
Daniel Velez is a Puerto Rican former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He represented his nation Puerto Rico at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won a career total of three medals at the 2005 Maccabiah Games in Netanya, Israel. Velez was also a member of the NC State Wolfpack swimming and diving team under head coach Brooks Teal, while pursuing his degree in psychology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Alexis Márquez Rivas is a Venezuelan swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He represented his nation Venezuela at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and currently holds a short course Venezuelan record in the 200 m butterfly (1:59.77) at the 2011 Copa de España Clubes Segunda Division in Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
Yoo Jung-nam is a South Korean swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He represented his nation South Korea at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won a career total of four medals in a major international competition, spanning the 2002 Asian Games and the 2005 East Asian Games. Yoo is also a member of the swimming team and a graduate of physical education at Seoul National University.
Lake Forest Swim Club (LFSC) is a private year-round USA Swimming program located in Lake Forest, Illinois. Since its founding in 1960, LFSC has established itself as a premier swim club locally, regionally, and nationally with over 50 state championship titles and 10 club members swimming in the Olympic Games.
Puerto Rico 
