U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel wins historic gold in Rio Olympics

U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel wins gold in the Women&#039;s 100m freestyle — (Image credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

American Simone Manuel shared the Olympic gold medal in the women's 100m freestyle with Canada's Penny Oleksiak on Thursday night in Rio, upsetting world record-holder Cate Campbell of Australia. With a time of 52.70 seconds, Manuel not only set a new Olympic record, she also became the first African-American to ever win an Olympic medal in swimming, and the first American to win gold in the event since 1984, another tie finish between Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer. Manuel was in third place at the halfway point, and she appeared shocked when she found out she'd won.

Campbell had been in the lead at the turn, but faded to sixth. Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom took the bronze. "This medal is not just for me," Manuel told NBC after the win. "It's for a whole bunch of people who came before me and have been an inspiration to me... It's for all the people after me who believe they can't do it, and I just want to be an inspiration to others that you can do it."

Team USA is leading the medal race, in both golds and total medals.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.