|
The gold medal placed around her neck on Thursday could help
to lift it.
Making history as the first black woman swimmer to win an
individual Olympic title for the United States, Manuel spoke of
her desire to change attitudes and addressed some of the issues
head-on.
"This medal is not just for me, it's for some of the
African-Americans that have come before me and have been
inspirations and mentors to me," she said after a dead-heat in
the 100 meters freestyle final resulted in two golds being
awarded. The other went to 16-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak.
"I think it means a lot, especially what's going on in the world
today with some of the issues with police brutality," she added,
without going into detail.
"I think that this win kind of helps bring hope and change to
some of the issues that are going on."
A string of fatal shootings of black men and women by white
police officers has triggered protests, some violent, across the
United States in recent weeks.
Manuel, 20, who comes from Houston and attends Stanford
University, is one of two African-American women who qualified
for the U.S. swim team -- the other being Lia Neal who won a
4x100 freestyle relay bronze in Rio.
Thursday's final was only the third time two golds have been
awarded as a result of a dead heat and it was fitting that the
other recipient was another youngster breaking down the doors
and redefining perceptions.
Oleksiak, the first Olympic champion born in the 21st century,
has now won four medals in Rio.
Manuel said she hoped her first gold would bring change.
"Just coming into this race tonight I kind of tried to take the
weight of the black community off my shoulders, which is
something I carry with me just being in this position," said
Manuel.
"I do hope that it kind of goes away. I'm super glad with the
fact that I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully
diversify the sport.
"But at the same time I would like there to be a day where there
are more of us and it's not 'Simone the black swimmer' because
the title 'black swimmer' makes it seem like I'm not supposed to
be able to win a gold medal, not supposed to be able to break
records."
"I work just as hard as anyone else and I love this sport and I
want to win just like everyone else."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Patrick Johnston)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
