Simone Manuel, a 20-year-old Texas native who now swims for Stanford, made history with her surprising win in the 100m freestyle, tying with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak to take gold and set the Olympic record with a time of 52.70 seconds.
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The 20-year-old Texan, now studying at Stanford University, clocked in at 52.70 seconds, a new Olympic record. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom won bronze.
The women’s 4×200-metre relay team, comprised of rising star Penny Oleksiak of Toronto, Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., B.C. -born Taylor Ruck, and Toronto’s Brittany MacLean took bronze to give Canada its sixth medal of the Games. First Michael Phelps dominated the 200-meter individual medley, and then Simone Manuel tied for gold to win the women’s 100-meter freestyle.
Daniel Nestor’s shot at a second Olympic tennis gold medal ended Thursday when he and partner Vasek Pospisil lost their semifinal to Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4).
Manuel’s victory came just hours after Simone Biles, a 19-year-old out of the north Houston suburb of Spring, won the Olympic all-around title. An emotional Manuel replied: “All I can say is all glory to God”.
The Olympics charged forward Thursday evening with several dramatic swimming finals. “It’s for some of the African-Americans that have came before me and have been inspirations and mentors to me”. Phelps became the first swimmer to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. She tied for the first place in the contest with Penny Oleksiak, 16, from Canada.
Manuel’s face streamed with tears after her historic win in a sport with few African Americans…
“It means a lot”, she said afterwards.
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“I’m pumped up and ready for tomorrow”, Oleksiak said of going for her fourth medal. I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming.
