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OTTAWA — On the way to the hotel pool for a water-cise workout, a B.C. Lions teammate jokingly chided Nigerian-born Solomon Elimimian, reminding him of the stereotype that blacks lack buoyancy.

Elimimian, who is as sharp as he is talented, didn’t miss a beat.

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“What about Simone Manuel?” he shot back. “Two gold medals. Weren’t you watching the Olympics?”

African-American swimmer Simone Ashley Manuel actually won two gold and two silver medals at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, so that old argument, as Elimimian pointed out, doesn’t float.

“I learned to swim when I was a kid,” Elimimian said. Credit his dad: “He was a really good swimmer, and he taught me. I swim like a fish.”

Still, some followers of the Lions had the old, sinking feeling that Elimimian might not return to the player he was before — on dry land, following surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles. Even the most competitive of athletes have trouble dealing with the thought: Could this be career-changing? Can I return with the same power, physique and purpose? Does this bring me one step closer to The End?