Instead, Oleksiak and Manuel made history, becoming just the second pair to share 100m freestyle gold at the Olympics.
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Manuel previously won a silver medal in Rio, her first Olympics, as part of the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
Factors The Canadian team has leaned heavily on Oleksiak this week and she has produced mightily, anchoring the two relay teams to bronze, and claiming an individual medal.
The gold medalist said the win is extra special as she recognizes the significance of being a rare black swimmer representing the United States.
The gold medal placed around her neck on Thursday could help to lift it.
And while she was toppling Olympic records, the 20-year-old set yet another mark. His favorite cinematic moment is when Django said “Y’all want to see somethin?” And after prelims and semifinals and seeing where I was sitting, when I came in tonight I was like, “I want to get on that medal stand”. “But I look forward to the day when there are more black swimmers and I am not just as known for that reason”, she added.
Even as she celebrated her triumph, she also acknowledged the recent shootings of black men by police officers in the US.
“It means a lot, especially with what is going on in the world today, some of the issues of police brutality”, she said.
“This win kind of brings hope and change to some of the issues that are going on in the world”.
Earlier in the swimming competition of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Manuel became the first African-American women to medal in an event in United States’ history. The 21-year-old qualified 14th in the butterfly with a time of 51.99 seconds. In her first three races, Oleksiak had the element of surprise, entering Rio as a relative unknown. Until she won the race.
Manuel grew up in Texas, but made a decision to go west for college. She now is on the women’s swimming team at Stanford University. She said she picked the university for its values.
‘I will be proud of you whether you come home with the gold or not, with first or second or third or seventh or eighth, because this was just a dream that she had for a long time.
And she’s in good company.
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. Access to pools, having parents who can swim, and looking up to swimmers are all important factors in whether or not a child can swim, a 2008 survey by USA Swimming Foundation found.
The beauty of her expression, however, is that she’s correct in saying she deserved to get the win and her race should not be the first thing people notice but rather her formidable athletic ability.
Manuel and Oleksiak shared the top spot on the medal podium, with the USA anthem played first followed by the Canadian anthem. It was after 1 a.m. before Oleksiak and her teammates finally left the pool and headed back to the athletes’ village.
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Like Jones, Manuel gives hope and encouragement to more African American youth to take up the sport of swimming.
