Simone Manuel took a silver medal in the 50m freestyle at 9:03 p.m. ET and anchored the 4x100m medley relay to a gold medal at about 9:50 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Phelps finished a full body- length ahead of the field after dominating the breaststroke and freestyle legs, finishing in 1minute, 54.66 seconds.
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“Miriam Lynch of Diversity in Aquatics, a nonprofit organization focused on curbing high numbers of drowning deaths among African-Americans, said Manuel’s victory could help reverse what she called a cultural fear of swimming in that group”.
“As the first African American woman to make the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, it really speaks to my heart”, McClendon said.
“I’m the kind of person that tries to stay the same”, she said. “I hope I can be an inspiration to others, so this medal is for those who come behind me and get into the sport and hopefully find the love and drive to get to this point”.
Simone’s victory set Twitter ablaze. Meyer won the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles as a 16-year-old in 1968. Biles, standing tall at 4-foot-8, won gold medals in both individual all-around and team all-around gymnastics, and the games will still continue next week.
Manuel was quick to single out Jones, Olympic and Stanford teammate Lia Neal and former Olympic swimmer Maritza Correia for blazing a path for her. The other two were won by Karen-Margrete Harup (100m backstroke) and Greta Anderson (100m freestyle) at the 1948 London Games.
Jeff Wiltse, the author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America spoke to NPR a number of years ago about the issue.
Biles said earlier in the event that Manuel was “an awesome person”, and it appears to be a friendship to last. Thousands of massive leisure complexes opened up. In the 1960s, many whites left cities for private pools and clubs in the suburbs, where segregation continued to exist.
But, then, as I looked around at the pool and the beach, I realized that my husband and son were nearly always the only black swimmers there. “My parents and my coaches were always encouraging and kept me going”. That continues to have an impact on the world we live in today as USA Swimming notes, 70 percent of African-American children have limited or no swimming abilities.
Manuel recognizes the significance of her achievement, yet she has never wanted to be defined exclusively by the color of her skin.
McClendon of Atlanta is a swimming legend – a UGA Bulldog and pioneer – who Simone Manuel calls her inspiration.
She grasped the spotlight Thursday and refocussed it on a pressing issue for the black community in the USA, her mention of “some of the issues with police brutality” a strong nod towards the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Now, I want to challenge myself and push myself a little more than what I used to, because now I could think I can do the same thing that she did”, Ronald Hickey says.
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Despite all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears, this sport can be a lot of fun. “Even semifinals I would have been very happy with, and to be able to medal and get a gold medal, it means so much to me”.
