Coach Brady said, "It's because of the extra bone in their ankle."

New study: 58 percent of black children can't swim

Nearly 60 percent of African-American children can't swim, almost twice the figure for white children, according to a first-of-its-kind survey which USA Swimming hopes will strengthen its efforts to lower minority drowning rates and draw more blacks into the sport.

Stark statistics underlie the initiative by the national governing body for swimming. Black children drown at a rate almost three times the overall rate. And less than 2 percent of USA Swimming's nearly 252,000 members who swim competitively year-round are black.

Coach Brady added, "We are hopeful that African-Americans will overcome this challenge, utilizing the extra muscle in their quadriceps."