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RIO DE JANEIRO -- For 16 years, through Olympics in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio, African-Americans swam under a microscope for their country.Questions about oddity and identity weighed them down as they tried to outrace history and the competition. Finally, on Thursday night, Simone Manuels gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle turned a liberating page for black swimmers.Trailing by an ominous half-second at the turn, Manuel used a furious closing charge to finish tied with Penny Oleksiak of Canada in an Olympic and American record of 52.70. Manuel is the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming medal at any Olympic Games.After shedding tears on the medal stand while the national anthem played, Manuel thanked black predecessors like Cullen Jones and Maritza Correia in acknowledging the historic nature of her victory.The gold medal wasnt just for me, it was for people who came before me and inspired me to stay in the sport, said the 20-year-old Stanford University student from the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas. And for people who believe that they cant do it. I hope that Im an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming.Decades after the end of Jim Crow laws that kept blacks out of white pools, African-Americans still have a complicated relationship with swimming.If a parent cant swim, theres only a 13 percent chance their child will learn, according to a 2010 report commissioned by USA Swimming. The report found that 69 percent of black children and 58 percent of Latino children cannot swim, compared with 42 percent of white children. Black children drown at a rate almost three times higher than white children.Rio is the first Olympics where the U.S. swim team has two black women -- Manuel and her close friend Lia Neal, who won a silver medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Manuel and Neal fielded so many black swimmer questions leading up to their races, it threatened to slow them down in the pool.Thats something I definitely struggled with a lot, Manuel said. Just coming into this race tonight, I kind of tried to take the weight of the black community off my shoulders, which is something I carry with me.Im super glad with the fact I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully diversify the sport. But at the same time, I would like there to be a day where there are more of us, and its not Simone the black swimmer. The title black swimmer makes it seem like Im not supposed to be able to win a gold medal, or Im not supposed to be able to break records. And thats not true.Manuels father, Mark Manuel, played basketball at the historically black Xavier University in New Orleans, and works in information technology. Her mother, Sharron, is a pharmacist. Simone started swimming at age 4 because her parents wanted her to be safe in the water. She almost chose to pursue ballet before choosing swimming.In Rio, coiled in her stance to begin the final, Manuel seemed to flinch just before the gun and did not get a great start. At the turn, she trailed by .47 of a second -- the basketball equivalent of a 15-point halftime deficit. But Manuel started to close over the last 25 meters, and with 15 to go, she put her head down and gutted out gold.After the race she immediately hugged Neal, who also attends Stanford. They appear often together on Manuels Instagram feed -- in the weight room, poolside in sunglasses, flaunting bikinis and ripped abs, and in a series of Fleek Films videos featuring two lit gurls on the road to Rio.Lia and I have this very special relationship, Manuel said. I wouldnt be where I am right now without her.Neal, 21, whose father is black and mother is Chinese-American, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and speaks Mandarin. She said the constant questions about being a black swimmer can be difficult, but I think thats just what comes with the territory of making history. Youre going to be faced with the question a lot, because its so new, she said before Manuels gold-medal race.Even though I get the question a lot and Im getting tired of it, other people who havent gotten the chance to speak to Simone or me, theyre all the more excited, so its fine.Tallying up the previous black U.S. Olympic swimmers is interesting.The lineage begins in 2000, with Anthony Ervin, whose father is black and Native American and mother is Jewish. Ervin won silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay in 2000 and tied for gold in the 50 freestyle. After a long hiatus, Ervin returned to the 2012 Olympics in London and is now in Rio at age 35.Ervin is fair-skinned with straight hair. In 2000, he was barraged with questions about being the first black Olympic swimmer, but I didnt know a thing about what it was like to be part of the black experience, Ervin told Rolling Stone in 2012. But now I do. Its like winning gold and having a bunch of old, white people ask you what its like to be black. That is my black experience.In 2004, Correia, also known by her married surname of McClendon, became the first woman of African descent to swim for the U.S. Olympic team. She was born in Puerto Rico to parents who emigrated from Guyana.In 2008, Jones won gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay, setting a world record of 3:08.24 on a team that included Michael Phelps. In 2012, Jones won silver in the 50 freestyle, silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay and gold in the 4x100 medley relay.Neal picked up the baton in 2012, when she made the Olympic team at age 17 and won bronze in the 4x100 freestyle relay. She finished fourth at this years U.S. trials to qualify for the relay team in Rio.Neal swam her Rio relay leg in 53.63, just .10 of a second faster than her time in the 2012 Olympics and significantly slower than she had been swimming this year. She did not participate in the final as the 4x100 team won silver, and that was devastating, she said.I was really upset after my race, just with myself. I was just like, why? I put so much more into these Games than I did in 2012. Why didnt it show? Neal said.She was in a funk until two days later, when the swimmers in the preliminary round received their medals during an impromptu ceremony with the womens team.Just seeing it in my hand, I think thats when all my negative thoughts and emotions just kind of went away, she said. My time may not have shown it, but I put in all the effort, and I did everything that I could have, so Im very happy with where I am, getting a silver medal. One step up from my bronze in 2012.What will she tell her grandchildren about being an Olympian? It was the experience of a lifetime, she said. Ive grown to understand that 99 percent of the rest of the world will never have that opportunity. It was an honor and a blessing, and just very humbling to be able to be one of the few people to represent an entire country, and to also have your entire country supporting you.Not to mention the black community, which made Simone Manuel a top trending topic on Twitter after her victory.It means a lot, especially with whats going on in the world today, some of the issues with police brutality, Manuel said. I think this [gold medal] will kind of help bring hope and change to some of the issues going on in the world.I mean, I went out there and swam as fast as I could. My color just comes with the territory. Cheap Jordan Shoes Free Shipping . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Cheap Jordans From China . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. http://www.realjordanshoescheap.com/ . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Cheap Real Jordans Free Shipping . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Cheap Real Jordans . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. STOCKTON, Calif. -- Jack Williams scored 17 points, T.J. Wallace added 16 and Pacific slipped past Wyoming 73-65 on Tuesday night.Pacific (2-2) tied the game at 41-all early in the second half on David Taylors layup, then poured in the next eight points to take the lead for good.Wyoming (3-1) tightened the gap to 61-60 on Alan Herndons jumper with 2:50 left. But then Ray Bowles got a 3-point play at the other end, Taylor got a steal and went 1 for 2 from the line and Wallace sank a 3-pointer to put Pacific back up by eight.dddddddddddd The Tigers protected the margin down the stretch.Bowles finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Taylor had nine points and eight rebounds before fouling out along with Wallace.Jason McManamen led Wyoming with 23 points, hitting all 16 of his free throws. Herndon had 17 points and Justin James 14. ' ' '