The 2016 Rio Olympic Games featured numerous world records, barriers broken, and Olympic history made. But it was the swim by two underdogs from North America that take this week’s Performance of the Week. Touching the wall in a new Olympic Record of 52.70 (and tying for the gold medal), Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak defied all expectations to break two major barriers: Manuel, the first African American woman to win an individual medal in swimming at the Olympic Games, and Oleksiak, the youngest Olympic champion in Canadian history at just 16 and the first Canadian woman to take home four medals at an Olympic Games.
Heading into the Olympic final for the women’s 100 freestyle, all eyes were on Australian Cate Campbell, who just weeks prior to the start of the Games had broken the world record and seemed to be one of the surest bets to take gold in the event in Rio. But as they say, if you have a lane you have a chance, and while Campbell took the race out like a rocket Manuel and Oleksiak stuck to their race plans. Manuel was third at the 50 (25.24) while Oleksiak was seventh (25.70), and while Campbell faltered with 25 meters to go the Canadian and the American surged to take the gold. Manuel and Oleksiak’s times were American and Canadian records respectively, while Oleksiak’s time was also a new junior world record.
The last gold medal tie at the Olympic Games came sixteen years ago, when Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin tied for gold in the 50 freestyle, and ironically the last time an American woman won the 100 freestyle was in a tie in 1984 between Americans Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer. Oleksiak’s gold medal is also the first for a Canadian woman since those 1984 Games, where Anne Ottenbrite won gold in the 200 breast. With these barrier breaking performances, these two women will inspire swimmers across the continent to go out and pursue their dreams against whatever odds they see, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Congratulations Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak on earning Swimming World’s Performance of the Week!
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