That race was the second, and only other time, there has been a tie in an Olympic swimming event. They couldn’t have arrived at this spot without it.
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Rio has been a fistful of firsts for Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak, but the showstopper was winning Canada’s first gold medal of the 2016 Summer Olympics on Thursday.
There’s only one holdover from the 2012 gold medal team: Dana Vollmer.
Sixteen years ago, Anthony Ervin, whose father is black and Native-American and whose mother is Jewish, became the first swimmer with African-American blood to win an individual Olympic gold. The two women share much more than a name: They represent a historic moment in Olympics history, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by other black Olympians, who cheered them on social media. While swimming has been a niche sport in the United States for many years, given the difficulty of finding pool access and the rigorous demands of club swimming, perhaps Manuel will inspire a new generation of young Americans to get into the pool and chase their dreams?
“This medal is not just for me, it’s for some of the African-Americans who have been before me and been inspirations”.
Jones, who didn’t make this year’s Olympic team, tweeted out his pride in Manuel, calling her achievement “amazing”. “I hope that I can be an inspiration for others”. “They might be pretty good at it”.
Fighting back tears, Manuel seemed overcome by the historic significance of it all.
“This medal is not just for me”. She talked about what it means at the news conference afterward.
The seven-time All-American at Stanford is competing in her first Olympics, and also earned silver as a member of the USA’s 400-meter freestyle relay team.
“The title of “black swimmer” suggests that I am not supposed to win golds or break records, but that’s not true because I train hard and want to win just like everyone else”, she said. Manuel, who barely contained her emotions when she won the 100M freestyle event, took time Thursday night to speak out against police brutality.
And while she was toppling Olympic records, the 20-year-old set yet another mark.
“It’s been a long journey and I’m super excited with where it has brought me”, she said.
Both Manuel and Biles have received much attention for their accomplishments in their respective sports – sports in which black athletes were shunned or had limited access to take part. But Cate Campbell was there, as expected, in first, a blistering 24.77 seconds.
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She’s also not done in Rio as the six-foot-two sensation will likely race either the butterfly or freestyle leg of the women’s individual medley relay Saturday.
