Team USA Swimmer Simone Manuel Scores Historic Gold Medal at Olympics

Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel made history Thursday night in Rio De Janeiro when she became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming, taking the top prize in the 100-meter freestyle.

Manuel took the podium with tears of joy in her eyes next to Canadian Penny Oleksiak who tied with Manuel, hitting the wall in 52.70 seconds.

"I'm just so blessed to have a gold medal," the 20-year-old athlete said when speaking to NBC following 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."

It wasn't easy for Manuel to take home the prize, at the halfway mark of the race she was swimming at third, but surged into first place seconds later to capture the gold.

Many have taken to Twitter to celebrate the historic win.

It's a huge moment in both Manuel's life, and the history of the Olympics as a whole.