Stanford teammates Simone Manuel, an American Record holder, and Lia Neal, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, will appear on MSNBC’s NewsNation on Wednesday morning to talk about their part in a historic 1-2-3 finish at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.
Manuel took 1st in that race, while Neal took 2nd, and in combination with Florida’s Natalie Hinds made up a podium entirely of black women – believed to be the first such occurrence at any meet of this stature in the United States.
The show airs at 11AM Eastern Time, with the swimmers expected to go on around 11:30 AM Eastern Time.
The full press release from Stanford is below.
STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford women’s swimmers Simone Manuel and Lia Neal are set to appear on MSNBC’s NewsNation Wednesday around 8:30 a.m. PT. The pair that finished 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships will be interviewed live by host Tamron Hall.
Manuel and Neal, who are quickly becoming role models in the swimming community, helped Stanford finish in third place at the NCAA Championships March 19-21 in Greensboro, N.C. Manuel, a freshman from Sugar Land, Texas, earned seven All-America honors, including individual national titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. Neal, a sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., finished with six All-America accolades.
The two, along with Florida’s Natalie Hinds, became the first African-American swimmers to finish 1-2-3 in an NCAA championship event in history when they took the top spots in the 100 free. The historic accomplishment will be a main topic of conversation on Wednesday’s show.
NewsNation with Tamron Hall airs weekdays at 8 a.m.-9 a.m. PT. The show features high profile interviews and in-depth coverage of U.S., world and political news.
And there we have it. I’m appalled though not surprised by the majority of the comments here, that can’t help but reveal their deep prejudices and discomfort with a worthy celebration. It’s disgusting. Look at the sport you apparently love! Look at the history! What does it look like?! Most of you take pains to object to the focus on race but would say nothing when the media celebrates the first woman or the first citizen of a country/region on the margins of the sport of swimming. All you do is reinforce the historical racial barriers with these faux post-racial positions, but here’s the thing– These three women are BRILLIANT and TALENTED AS HELL!!! It’s the very thing you forget… Read more »
The funnier about this story is that the first black (a polynesian) swimmer who was a world record holder and an olympic champion was a guy from Hawai, named Duke Kahanamoku. He was coloured, and a perfect gentleman, and he won the 100 meters freestyle event at the olympics in 1912 and 1920, and was runner-up in 1924, six decades before Antony Nesty, and I don’t understand why so many people are so thrilled to see a “black” person win a swimming race!
Australia’s Leah Neale should get on the team with her 5th place 1 57.4 .
I’ve been waiting for the stars to collide & both get to the same comp & even same event .(800 relay is best chance).
Is lia neal qualified for Kazan?
if yes, their best chance to race against each other might be 4×200 prelims, which I doubt will happen since USA and Australia will be ranked 1 and 2, and thus will swim in different heats.
And I doubt both Neal/Neale will swim in 4×200 final judging by how outrageously deep w200 in both countries is.
Lia Neal is qualified for Kazan as part of the 400 free relay, though of course she can always be plucked for other relays if the coaches decide they need her there.
It figures that the leftists at MSNBC would focus inordinately on race.
‘Resist we much.
We much and we will much.
About . That. Be committed.”
haha i bet some of you don’t even know what that is about . if so , i am not obtuse , you are ignorant .
“I am ob-tu, oobtoose and ignaraant” (as Sharpton would respond)
No, I got it…Sharpton is an idiot! 🙂
Ok I’ll bite…
I’ve always read/heard Lia Neal referred to as “black” or “african american”.
Very very I read that Neal is referred to even as half asian.
Why is that?
Is one race more superior than other in USA?
I meant “very very RARELY I read that Neal is….”
Another example: Tiger Woods is African American… completely ignoring the fact he is half asian.
I am so confused with the politics of race in USA
I think the reason is that it is much more rare to see an African American in the sports of golf and Swimming. There is a barrier to entry to both of these sports. Tiger Woods was competing on golf courses that African Americans where not allowed to play or become a member. Lia Neal and Simone Manual are competing in a sport that stereotypes and stigmas say African Americans are not good at. A long established barrier is being broken by these two young women and should be celebrated! Not matter their background they are incredible athletes.
That is actually a very astute point, Aswimfan, and one that annoys me a great deal. You asked if, one race is superior to the other In the US; the convention here is that, if a person is partially of African descent they are considered black. I think this is a holdover from the days when being “black” meant you had fewer rights and some citizens who were partially of African descent would try to “pass” as white because of the improved priviledges it gave them, but if they were discovered to be “black” that would all change. I think it persists because the darker skin color that being of African descent gives many people is often easy to see.… Read more »
yay! Good for them