It came with the territory, Sharron said, because there were so few minority swimmers. “She didn’t have to say much after that, because her staying up said enough in itself”.
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It was a slow start for Manuel but midway at 50 meters, she sped past several swimmers for the win.
“This medal is not just for me, it’s for the African-Americans who have come before me and been an inspiration”, Manuel said afterward.
Simone Manuel’s historic Olympic win is inspiring young swimmers in the African-American community in Houston. In addition to helping the American team dominate the competition en route to their second gold in as many years, she also won the all-around individual gold.
“It means a lot, especially with what is going on in the world today, some of the issues of police brutality”, the swimmer said. “I’m super glad with the fact that I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully diversify the sport”, she said.
The headline doesn’t identify Manuel and undermines her achievement, simply calling her an “African-American”. “My goal was just to get more experience, swim as fast as I can”.
Tennis great Serena Williams, an Olympic gold medalist, posted a photo of both Manuel and Biles with their gold medals on her Instagram page with the caption “So awesome”. 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. The Chicago Tribune celebrated Corey Cogdell’s bronze medal in trap ahooting win with a headline reading “Corey Cogdell, Wife of Bears Lineman Mitch Unrein, Wins Bronze in Rio”.
“That helped keep the nerves off me”, Manuel said. “It was important for me to do that for her because even at that time I saw she could do something special”. The two now share an Olympic record and both received a gold medal. The U.S. has a long history of keeping black folk out of swimming pools and away from public beaches. And as she physically made history in Rio, she symbolically swam upstream against the longstanding history of exclusion and violence in America’s “contested waters”. I have no regrets, and I’m just very excited, but then again, I do have two gold medals now, but it doesn’t change who I am. In 2010, she experienced a turning point, being chosen for USA Swimming’s diversity select camp, where she met other talented minorities.
Manuel will go for another medal Saturday in Rio.
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Her brothers chose a different yet just as competitive sport: basketball.
