RIO DE JANEIRO — She walked through the dark of night, striding through the quiet of the Olympic Athletes' Village. The clock was approaching 2:30 a.m. on Friday and now Simone Manuel, her shiny new gold medal around her neck, gently opened the door to her room.
She didn't want to awake her roommate, Katie Ledecky, who in less than 18 hours had her own date with history. Manuel tiptoed into room. But then Ledecky leapt out of bed and threw her arms around her roomie, who earlier that evening had won gold in the 100-meter freestyle to become the first African-American woman to capture a gold in an individual swimming event—and the first American to win the 100 free since 1984.