Simone Manuel

Another interesting fact…As Simone Manuel wrote - Today I can say I’m an Olympic champion, the first black woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming. But my success at the 2016 Rio Games — where I earned two golds and two silvers — never would have happened if I had listened to that nagging voice in my head when I was 12, the one that told me I should give up swimming. I was a tall black girl with muscles, an athletic build. “You must play basketball,” people would say. Or: “I bet you run track, right? Wow … you’re a swimmer? Really? Why do you like it so much?” (Courtesy The Undefeated.com)

To learn more about this inspirational woman, go to BlackPast.org’s web page

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/manuel-simone-ashley-1996/