USA Swimmer Simone Manuel Makes History, Ties For Olympic Gold In Women’s 100M Freestyle Final

by Pablo MenaAugust 12, 2016, 1:26 pmNews >

Simone Biles is not the only impressive American Olympian named ‘Simone’ to have won gold thus far in Rio di Janeiro.

Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win a gold medal for the United States in an individual swimming event after she tied with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak in an Olympic-record time of 52.70 seconds in the women’s 100-meter freestyle final Thursday.

USA Swimmer Simone Manuel Makes History ,Ties For Olympic Gold In Women’s 100M Freestyle Final

The 20-year-old Houston native, who had previously taken silver in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, set a new Olympic record along with Oleksiak.

“My first gold medal, at my first Olympics, is kind of a surprise to me,” Manuel told reporters. “I never thought I would be in this position but I’m so blessed and honored to be on the medal stand. All my hard work has paid off and I am really happy about it.”

Manuel and Oleksiak, 16, embraced following their dead heat. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom won bronze.

The previous two swimmers to share Olympic gold were US pair Gary Hall Jr. and Antony Ervin, who shared the men’s 50-meter freestyle title back in 2000.

Oleksiak is the first athlete born in the 2000s to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event.

American Abbey Weitzeil finished seventh.

Following her historic victory, Manuel also spoke about America’s police brutality issue. She said her triumph was extra special, given the persistent racial issues and movements like “Black Lives Matter” that have pervaded the US in recent months.

“It means a lot, especially with what is going on in the world today, some of the issues of police brutality,” Manuel said. “This win hopefully brings hope and change to some of the issues that are going on. My color just comes with the territory.”

Australia’s Cate Campbell was a heavy favorite heading into Thursday’s race, but Manuel remained calm and beat her rival.

When Manuel looked up after touching the wall, she admitted to being “super surprised” when she turned around and saw the “1” next to her name on the scoreboard.

For the youngster, the win could not have been sweeter. In the days leading up to the event, she forced herself to at least momentarily distance herself from the weight of being a rare black female swimmer representing the US, in order to concentrate on winning gold.

“It is something I’ve definitely struggled with a lot,” Manuel said. “Coming into the race I tried to take weight of the black community off my shoulders. It’s something I carry with me. I want to be an inspiration, but I would like there to be a day when it is not ‘Simone the black swimmer.’

Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky set an Olympic record of eight minutes, 12.86 seconds to lead the 800-meter freestyle field after the preliminary heats on Thursday afternoon. The 19-year-old, the defending Olympic winner in the event, set the record on her way to win the gold in London in 2012 at the age of 15.

It was the only event she swam at the 2012 Olympics, but subsequently won it at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships.

Only the top eight swimmers advance directly to Friday’s final, and 400-meter freestyle bronze medalist Leah Smith will join U.S. teammate Ledecky in the final. Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas and Jazz Carlin of Great Britain also advanced.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 11: Simone Manuel of the United States celebrates after winning gold in the Women’s 100m Freestyle Final on Day 6 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 11, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

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