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How Penny Oleksiak stacks up against Canada’s best Olympians

She’s the first woman to take three consecutive all-round world titles while her 14 world championship medals are the most ever won by an American woman.

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Manuel, 20, became the first black swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. when she tied for first with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak in the final of the 100m freestyle at Rio’s Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual medal for the United States and the first American to win the 100 free since the boycotted 1984 Games.

Instead, it was Manuel – her fingernails painted red, white and blue – who touched at the same time as Oleksiak, the youngest swimmer in the field.

“I’ve always said that I didn’t need a gold medal to have self-worth and I guess that that’s being put to the test at the moment”, said Cate. 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. The pool isn’t the only thing she has dominated, as she is also a student at the elite Stanford University.

“It means a lot to me”, Manuel said afterward.

“She’s the first and hopefully, she won’t be the last”, he says.

“I haven’t gotten best times in a while in long course”, she said, differentiating from the distance she swims in college. “I hope that I can be an inspiration for others”.

When Manuel cried Thursday night, the wet stuff certainly became a shared experience, with African American communities back home, with any household that appreciates Team USA and history and a worthy trailblazer. I’m very happy for how she’s done. In 2012, Lia Neal won a Bronze medal as part of a relay at the London Games, and she earned a Silver medal with her team in a relay in Rio.

Some are saying Manuel didn’t get the attention she deserves or that others get because she is black. I always had an issue with not seeing “people that looked like me” in the sport. “She (Manuel) deserves it as much as me”. Both competitors finished in 52.70 seconds.

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“Just seeing it in my hand, I think that’s when all my negative thoughts and emotions just kind of went away”, she said. My goal was just to get more experience, swim as fast as I can. “My color just comes with the territory”.

Penny Oleksiak Simone Manuel Rio Olympics