IFWT_Simone_Manuel

Simone Manuel made history in more ways than one last night in Rio. The young American swimmer wasn’t expected to medal, let alone with the race, becoming the first African-American woman to win any medal in swimming, not just Gold. She also was involved in the super rare tie, as she and Penny Oleksiak of Canada touched the wall at the exact same time, giving both swimmers the Gold.

@IamJoeSports

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. Her reaction was priceless as she turned her head to see the screen and noticed she had won.

“I’m just so blessed 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.”

For whatever reason, NBC thought it would be a good idea to show gymnastics rather than the medal ceremony for such a historical feat. Check it out below. The emotion coming from Simone will give you goosebumps. Team USA has been kicking some serious butt in the pool during these games and Simone Manuel just made sure she will go down in history along with some of her other great teammates.