U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event Thursday night. Manuel tied with Canadian Penny Oleksiak and beat world record-holder Cate Campbell in the women’s 100m freestyle final, breaking down in tears upon realizing the significance of her achievement. “The gold medal wasn’t just for me. It was for people that came before me and inspired me to stay in the sport,” the 20-year-old Stanford University student said after her win. It was her first Olympic Games.
