The historic achievement Simone Manuel had created without her race being a factor (von xiaofeng01)

Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual http://www.officialauthentic49ersstore.com/Authentic-Gerald-Hodges-Jersey Olympic medal in swimming Thursday night, tying for gold in the 100-meter freestyle with Penny Oleksiak of Canada.Manuel and Oleksiak both touched the wall in 52.70 seconds, breaking the Olympic record by one-hundredth of a second. Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom took the bronze in 52.99.Manuel leaned her head into her hands and cried when she recognized her historic achievement in a sport that still has few African-Americans."I'm just so blessed http://www.officialauthentic49ersstore.com/Authentic-Will-Redmond-Jersey to have a gold medal," Manuel, 20, told NBC after the race. "This medal is not just for me. 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."Manuel, meanwhile, also became the first American to win gold in the women's 100 freestyle since 1984, when Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer shared first place.Manuel had to rally to get there.She was third at the halfway mark but surged past Australian Cate Campbell, who was on pace to take her world record even lower when she made the turn out front, with little sister Bronte right behind. But the Australian siblings, who teamed up to lead their country to gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay, couldn't hang on.Manuel's victory took on added significance in a sport that still has few people of color, especially in light of the racial divide in the United States. She mentioned "some of the issues with police brutality.""That helped keep the nerves DeForest Buckner Nike Jerseys off me," Manuel said. "After the race, I gave her a big hug and I cried and I told her, 'Thank you for everything you've done for me.' She's a huge part of my successes."And Manuel hopes she can just be a swimmer and a champion without her race being a factor.