The gold was Denmark’s third in swimming, and Blume’s first of any colour at an Olympics.
Advertisement
Blume clocked 24.07 seconds to finish ahead of American Simone Manuel (24.09) and Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus (24.11).
In doing so, she joined the ranks of other blacks who were the first to win gold medals at the Olympics, including Wilma Rudolph, Gabby Douglas, Alice Coachman, Zina Garrison and Vonetta Flowers. Raisman won the silver medal, so they truly were competing for the pinnacle of recognition in their sport. The tears that rolled down both her cheeks as she stood on the podium with the American national anthem being played showed the depth of her two-fold victory.
She said: ‘I’m super glad that I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully diversify the sport. That year, young black and white protesters in St. Augustine, Florida, were assaulted with acid thrown into the pool water before being locked in jail in their bathing suits for daring to challenge segregation.
As far back as African slaves being brought to America on ships overseas, to the Jim Crow south that kept Blacks, regardless of economic status, out of white pools, to recent events of Black children being kicked out of a pool party in Texas. “I’m the first Simone Biles”, she said Thursday night. Sharron said her daughter has understood for some time that this sport will give her a platform to share a message with the world, and she’ll always support Manuel speaking her mind in a thoughtful way.
“The title “black swimmer” makes it seem like I’m not supposed to be able to win a gold medal or break records”.
I can’t swim. My grandmother jokes that she never wants to be in more water than she can drink, and I pretty much agree. My wife, who is half Caucasian and half Japanese, tries to make me feel guilty about not swimming. “We know how hard she had worked and she had sacrificed a lot to get to this point”.
Indeed, Manuel is a refreshing representation of what is possible for black athletes, but also for African Americans who have long stayed pool side. Though Brown v. Board of Education led to desegregated schools in 1954, a federal judge refused to integrate pools in Baltimore, ruling that they “were more sensitive than schools”. But Manuel never allowed it to become an issue. “I just wash it and condition it as best as I can”.
As Simone Manuel makes waves with her gold medal win Thursday night, her historic victory is already inspiring African Americans across the country to learn how to swim too.
We are lucky that Manuel doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about her hair. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, in the United States, a black 11-year-old is 10 times as likely to drown in a swimming pool as a white 11-year-old.
“I definitely think it raises some awareness and will get them inspired”, Manuel told the media when she was asked about the significance of being the first. “Coming into the race, I tried to take weight of the black community off my shoulders. I do hope that kind of goes away”.
Advertisement
The USA Swimming website has an entire page celebrating black history in its sport.
