Australia’s Cate Campbell was a strong favorite going into the race, but Manuel remained calm as her rival faded. Manuel is the first African-American woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming, and neither herself nor Oleksiak were favorites to medal in this race. “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles”, she resolutely told CNN, enshrining her greatness in American Olympic history. “It’s for some of the African-Americans that have came before me and have been inspirations and mentors to me. I want to win just like anybody else”.
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At the Rio Olympics, Oleksiak has already won four medals: two bronze, one silver and now a gold.
This is the second medal Manuel has won in Rio; she won silver as part of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team. If the present is anything to go by, the future looks very bright for Toronto-born Oleksiak. Her coach said he believes Van Acker contracted a severe intestinal infection while training in Rio in July that sapped her energy.
Katie Ledecky set a new Olympic record as she qualified in her signature event, the 800-meter freestyle. After 16 Olympic appearances, the tiny island nation earn its first medal.
Meanwhile, Michael Phelps remained atop Mt. Olympus, where he continues to swim like the gods.
After two forgettable preliminary matches and facing the real possibility of near-Olympic elimination, Anderson led the charge for a roster packed with Olympic first-timers.
Britain’s Max Whitlock had won a bronze medal in the men’s event on Wednesday, but Downie’s medal hopes ended with a poor score on her third apparatus, the uneven bars, before she made another error on beam.
Manuel said she hoped her first gold would bring change. But she would prefer that people focus on the gold medal rather than her race.
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Setting her sights high [another girl had plumbed for the rather more mundane profession of “retail manager”], she predicted how she would become an “Olympic gymnast” when she was older. However, once the internet began shaming NBC for not deeming Manuel’s historic win important enough o show on TV, they aired it – nearly an hour later. All my hard work has paid off and I am really happy about it.
