For Caucasians, it was 41.8 percent. So, the perception that black people can’t swim is ignorant. Black children are three times more likely to drown than their peers.
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Though Team USA has been no stranger to victory in the Olympic pool this games, Simone Manuel’s gold-medal win last night during the women’s 100 m freestyle final may be the brightest of them all.
Young Layla says, “she’s got next”, as she gets ready for her future as an Olympic swimmer.
The headline was posted on the newspaper’s website, but quickly removed and replaced with one carrying Manuel’s name with Phelps’. She was expected to medal in the 2012 Olympics in London, but was disqualified after an illegal move.
American Simone Manuel and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak claimed joint gold in a remarkable finish to the women’s 100m freestyle final.
“It means a lot to me”, Manuel said afterward. “I deserve to be here, and I deserve this medal”. Manuel is the first African-American to win a medal in individual swimming, in addition to being the first to win gold. I was alone. The question I always get was, ‘How did you deal with that?’ I tell people every single time, I loved what I was doing.
Manuel provided a thrilling moment for all Americans, especially those who remember old Jim Crow laws that once kept blacks out of white pools in Southern states. They began speaking via email about swimming and life. ‘It’s my paper. I might get in trouble for saying it, but it’s a bad headline’.
“I think it took about five minutes to set in”, she said. I love seeing the way she attacks things. My childhood was filled with memories of beach visits, games of Marco Polo, and my dad tossing me around in the water. “I’ll wade and watch you”.
When Simone Biles, a black woman, won the all-around title at the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2013, Italian competitor Carlotta Ferlito told an Italian journalist, “next time, we should also paint our skin black, so then we could win, too”. “It’s going to be a really fun season and I have an awesome team”. It’s a small gesture, but it’s one that encapsulates pretty much everything the Olympics should be: Athletes from different nations and cultures – sometimes nations and cultures that are hostile to each other – coming together to show that we’re much more alike than different.
Manuel represents hope. Of all the jokes that comedians make about blacks and swimming, the most popular and depressing involve women. “She understands that it’s a part of it”. The Olympics are nearly tailor-made for inspirational tales, but here are a few that stood out for me this first week.
Simone Manuel, a 20-year-old black female swimmer, and Simone Biles, a 19-year-old black female gymnast, dominated in two sports in which most USA competitors are white.
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While admitting she is ambivalent about her historic position, she said confidently that the “medal is not for me”. She is a gold-verified badass.
