“Most people don’t go in thinking they can beat Usain Bolt either, it’s kind of the same thing”. After the gymnastics team won gold on Tuesday, Douglas was criticized after she failed to place her hand over her heart during the national anthem. “We know how hard she had worked and she had sacrificed a lot to get to this point”.
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Manuel became the first African-American female swimmer to take gold in an individual event when she surged home in the final half of the second lap to finish in a time of 52:70. Congrats also poured in from Tony Award-winning actor and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
It gets a little trickier after that, if only because of unfortunate timing. A three-time Olympic medalist in London, Raisman appeared to be on the outside of the picture looking in after a shaky performance at the world championships that left her “devastated”.
The seven-time All-American at Stanford is competing in her first Olympics, and also earned silver as a member of the USA’s 400-meter freestyle relay team. The two women share much more than a name: They represent a historic moment in Olympics history, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by other black Olympians, who cheered them on social media. She soars higher than other gymnasts, does moves others can never attempt.
“She really ranks at the top”, said Martha Karolyi, the national team coordinator who helped Nadia Comaneci score a ideal 10 in the 1976 games as a coach in Romania.
Dorothy Dandridge was a fearless woman of color who inspired generations of women after her to fight for to make their dreams a reality at all costs and Simone Manuel has now passed on that same spirit of inspiration to a new generation of future champions in the making. “Those are the culminations of our career”.
“With Simone Manuel winning, she’s going to inspire a generation, not only of black children and African-Americans, but young girls as well”, he said. “It’s so exciting”, Biles said after her medal ceremony in Rio.
Watching from close by was Aimee Boorman, who has coached Biles for almost the gymnast’s whole career.
That’s why, when Manuel won gold Thursday night, she wasn’t just an athlete excelling at her sport. Now she can say she’s the greatest of all-time.
“It doesn’t even feel real”, Biles said.
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“It was a very heartbreaking but I just used it for motivation every single day in the gym”, Raisman said Friday. “I just do my gymnastics”.
