Making history as the first black woman swimmer to win an individual Olympic title for the US, Manuel spoke of her desire to change attitudes and addressed some of the issues head-on. In the 100-meter freestyle, Manuel actually tied for first place with 16-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak, clocking in at 52:70, a new Olympic record.
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And Sjostrom was also amazed by what was just the third split gold medal in Olympic history after Americans Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer shared the 1984 100m freestyle and another United States pair, Anthony Ervin and Gary Hall Jr, split the men’s 50m in 2000.
Instead it was Manuel who surged in the final length and shaved almost a half-second off her semi-final swim to tie Canadian Penny Oleksiak for the gold with an Olympic Record time of 52.70 seconds. It was for people who came before me and inspired me to stay in this sport, and for people who believe that they can’t do it. “And I just want to be inspiration to others that you can do it”.
Simone Manuel won gold in a historic race for Team USA and she has made her country proud.
Born as Simone Ashley Manuel on August 2, 1996 in Houston, Texas, United States.
Manuel, who’s rooming at these Olympics with phenom Katie Ledecky, still has to compete in what she thought was her best event – the 50-meter freestyle. He finished fifth in his semifinal heat but a fast swim in the second semi bumped the Kenora, Ont., native to 12th. But Manuel has struggled with embracing her role as, as she said, a “black swimmer”, and shoving it aside.
“I met other minorities who were facing some of the same things that I was, so through that process I didn’t feel so alone”, she said in March.
“It means a lot, this medal is not just for me. This medal is for the people who come behind me and get into the sport”. And it showed. Manuel stood on the blocks with reigning world champion Bronte Campbell from Australia on her right; to her left, Bronte’s sister, current world-record holder Cate Campbell. “Just coming into this race, I kind of tried to take the weight of the black community off my shoulders, which is something I carry with me just being in this position”. This is also the first time a Canadian has won four medals at a summer Games. Penny’s performance in the women’s 100-metre freestyle swimming event earned her the top spot on the podium. But she enjoyed it so much, she immersed herself fully by age 9.
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“When I was younger, I didn’t want to be called the black swimmer, or the African-American swimmer, because I was doing what everyone else was doing, so I didn’t see a difference”.
