USA and Canadian women tie for swimming gold and make Olympic history.
Notice: Array to string conversion in /home/delectant/public_html/wp-content/plugins/jetpack/modules/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery/templates/partials/carousel-image-args.php on line 15US 20 year-old Simone Manuel ties with 16 year-old Canadian, Penny Oleksiak. Both swimmers record the exact same time of 52.70, a new Olympic record, to top the podium.
A week ago, swimmer Penny Oleksiak was just one of the many anonymous athletes about to embark on her first Olympic Games. Seven days and four medals later, she’s a national hero being touted as a Canadian Michael Phelps, a fresh-faced star with seemingly limitless potential. She’s a marketing dream, experts say.
The 16-year-old Oleksiak may be on a faster track. The Toronto native has won two bronze, a silver, and on Thursday night, captured Canada’s first gold medal of the Games. She still has a shot at another relay medal.
Simone Manuel made history in the pool on Thursday night, as she became the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold in an individual swimming event.
“The gold medal wasn’t just for me. It was for people that came before me and inspired me to stay in the sport,” she said. “For people who believe that they can’t do it. I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming. You might be pretty good at it.”
She also said she was aware of what her victory meant in the current political climate in the US. “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.”
Both athletes had enjoyed success earlier in the Games. Manuel won silver with the US relay team, and Oleksiak claimed silver in the 200m butterfly and two bronzes in the freestyle relays.
