Simone Manuel Becomes the First Black Female Swimmer To Win Individual Gold Medal (Video)

US swimmer, Simone Manuel Becomes the First Black Female Swimmer To Win Individual Gold Medal. She swam a blistering final 50 in yesterday’s 100m freestyle to earn a gold medal alongside Canadian Penny Oleksiak, who swam an identical Olympic-record 52.70 in the event. Watch video after the cut

Both surpassed world record-holder Cate Campbell, who led the race after the first 50 meters and ended up missing the podium.

Manuel becomes the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming medal in U.S. history. We said it would be “tough sledding” for her to reach the podium. We were wrong!