The fact that both inspiring young women share a name as well as their own gold medals was not lost on Olympic fans, nor was it lost on them. Dominique Dawes, the first female African-American gymnast to win an individual medal at the Olympics, posted on Instagram that her daughter woke “from a deep sleep for a few seconds to watch Simone Biles finish her floor routine” to help her team win gold this week.
Advertisement
Mom didn’t have an answer.
“She didn’t have to say much after that”, Manuel said, “because her staying up said enough”. “When she hit the wall, I jumped up”.
“She’s a high school student as well as competing at the Olympics”. When it was over, Marc and Sharron Manuel couldn’t immediately see the videoboard with the results.
That’s why, when Manuel won gold Thursday night, she wasn’t just an athlete excelling at her sport. I don’t know. But there they were, supporting Oleksiak, as well as being supremely congratulatory of Manuel and her accomplishment. Manuel, 20, realized she was different than most swimmers when she was 11. “I’m glad I could be an inspiration to others, but I haven’t thought about how my life changed yet”. “I haven’t really gotten a chance to take everything in, but that’s OK because I want to do well in the rest of my events this week”. The significance was not lost on her or others.
Manuel not only gave Team USA its first gold medal in that competition in decades, the win marked various firsts for her as well. “Because the title “black swimmer” makes it seem like I’m not supposed to be able to win a gold medal, I’m not supposed to break records”. “She would like to be recognized for her merits and dedication”.
“This medal is not just for me, it’s for some of the African-Americans who came before me and have been an inspiration to me”, she said. “She understands that it’s a part of it”.
Manuel’s teammate, Lia Neal, earned silver on the 4×100 free relay in Rio and bronze on the same relay four years ago in London.
Manuel said to BBC News that her win was for the “African-Americans who have been before me and been inspirations”, and “the people who come behind me and get into the sport”.
As a child, Manuel always loved the water.
Ledecky’s mother swam at the University of New Mexico and her older brother, Michael, was also a swimmer.
“That’s something I definitely struggled with a lot”, she said. “We didn’t know then that this is what we were in for”. It was when I got home I started to feel the weight of what that means. Manuel learned Mandarin as a result.
Although she was disappointed with her time, she took solace in knowing that she is a role model for young girls in Botswana, a nation of 2.1 million people and two 50-meter swimming pools.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, USA Swimming hosts diversity camps, has developed community partnerships with city departments in diverse areas and has a diversity coach mentorship program. Cate’s younger sister Bronte had a personal best that made her the third fastest in the event’s history.
