tles played better, and Jacksonville did enough to overcome a 13-0 deficit in the final quarter. Could they use it earlier in t

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming Thursday night, tying for gold in the 100-meter freestyle with Penny Oleksiak of Canada.Manuel and Oleksiak both touched the wall in 52.70 seconds, breaking the Olympic record by one-hundredth of a second. Swedens Sarah Sjostrom took the bronze in 52.99.Manuel leaned her head into her hands and cried when she recognized her historic achievement in a sport that still has few African-Americans.Im just so blessed to have a gold medal, Manuel, 20, told NBC after the race. This medal is not just for me. Its for a whole bunch of people who came before me and have been an inspiration to me. ... Its for all the people after me who believe they cant do it, and I just want to be an inspiration to others that you can do it.Anthony Ervin is the only African-American male to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming. He tied for first in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2000 Olympics and is on the team again in Rio.Manuel, meanwhile, also became the first American to win gold in the womens 100 freestyle since 1984, when Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer shared first place.Manuel had to rally to get there.She was third at the halfway mark but surged past Australian Cate Campbell, who was on pace to take her world record even lower when she made the turn out front, with little sister Bronte right behind. But the Australian siblings, who teamed up to lead their country to gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay, couldnt hang on.Bronte faded to fourth, and Cate dropped all the way to sixth at the finish.Instead, it was Manuel -- her fingernails painted red, white and blue -- who touched at the same time as 16-year-old Oleksiak, the youngest swimmer in the field.Manuel and Oleksiak shared the top spot on the medal podium, with the U.S. anthem played first, followed by the Canadian anthem. Tears rolled down each of Manuels cheeks as she sang along.Its been a long journey, and Im super excited with where it has brought me, she said.Manuels victory took on added significance in a sport that still has few people of color, especially in light of the racial divide in the United States. She mentioned some of the issues with police brutality.I think that this win helps bring hope and change to some of the issues that are going on in the world, but I mean, I went out there and swam as fast as I could, and my color just comes with the territory, Manuel said.Until now, Cullen Jones had been the face of swimming for minorities in America, having won two golds and two silvers at the previous two Olympics. But Jones failed to make the U.S. team this year in what could have been his final attempt.Manuels teammate Lia Neal earned silver on the 4x100 free relay in Rio and bronze on the same relay four years ago in London. Maritza Correia won silver on the same relay at the 2004 Athens Games.Manuel singled out Jones, Neal and Correia for blazing a path.Neal pumped up Manuel before the night-time finals by singing and dancing together.That helped keep the nerves off me, Manuel said. After the race, I gave her a big hug and I cried and I told her, Thank you for everything youve done for me. Shes a huge part of my successes.Manuel, who attends Stanford and has a brother who played basketball at SMU, looks forward to a time when there is greater diversity in the pool.I would like there to be a day where there are more of us and its not Simone, the black swimmer, she said, because the title black swimmer makes it seem like Im not supposed to be able to win a gold medal or Im not supposed to be able to break records, and thats not true because I work just as hard as anybody else. I want to win just like everybody else.And Manuel hopes she can just be a swimmer and a champion without her race being a factor.Thats something I definitely struggled with a lot, she said. Just coming into this race, I kind of tried to take the weight of the black community off my shoulders, which is something I carry with me just being in this position. I do hope that kind of goes away.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.NMD Fake . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. NMD Discount . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. https://www.cheapnmdoutlet.com/ . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. NMD For Sale .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. NMD Clearance . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars already are off to better-than-usual starts this season.One of them will take another big stride Sunday.The Raiders (4-2) are looking to open the season 5-2 for the first time in 15 years.The Jaguars (2-3), who have won two in a row , are trying to get to .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2010.Its huge, Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis said. Its a great opportunity for us, and we understand that. Our expectations have been high from the start. We came into this thing wanting to be better than what we are right now.Obviously, we cant change whats happened in the past, but we have an opportunity to kind of dictate our future by going out there and handling business.The Raiders have handled every road trip so far this season, winning at New Orleans, Tennessee and Baltimore.Thats three games east of the Mississippi River, and all three have been early start times for the cross-country traveling Raiders. They have two more 10 a.m. PDT starts, beginning in Jacksonville.Coach Jack Del Rio said he would have appreciated a later kickoff in at least one of those.We make those suggestions to the league. Theyre mostly ignored, Del Rio said. It is a demanding schedule and so were just going to do what we can to prepare our football team and come out there and compete our butts off.Oakland is coming off its worst game of the season, a 26-10 loss to Kansas City in which it punted three times, fumbled and turned it over on downs in the second half. Equally troubling, Del Rios defense couldnt stop the run.The Raiders rank last in the NFL in total defense, giving up 445 yards a game. They have allowed at least 390 yards in every game and are on pace to allow the most yards per play (6.9) of any team since the merger.We havent played well enough, but the good thing is that you get a chance to redeem yourself and get the bad taste out of your mouth, pass rusher Khalil Mack said.They could find things easier against the Jaguars, who have been mostly inept trying to move the ball with any consistency. Blake Bortles has turned the ball over too often and has been inaccurate with passes. Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson hasnt topped 75 yards in any game this season.And the biggest issue offenssively has been Jacksonvilles inability to get much going on the ground, and defenses havent needed to stack the line of scrimmage to slow it down.ddddddddddddWeve got to be able to run the ball against some of the seven-man boxes that were seeing, offensive coordinator Greg Olson said.Here are some other things to know about the teams as the Raiders seek their first win in three trips to Jacksonville:RUN DOWN: The Raiders hope to get a boost in their running game with the expected return of Latavius Murray, who missed the past two games with turf toe. After rushing for 148.3 yards per game the first three weeks, Oakland has been held to 72 a game the past three games as Murray has been either out or limited.I want to be out there every time we step on the field, Murray said. I know its part of the game, and Im ready to be out there now.DEL RIO RETURNS: Del Rio spent nine years as Jacksonvilles coach and will be back on the sideline for the first time since being fired with five games remaining in the 2011 season. He said he has no idea what kind of reception hell get Sunday, but its sure to be a mixture of boos and cheers.Theres always an appreciation to go back to a place you spent a good portion of your career, Del Rio said.HURRY UP? The Jaguars created a spark last week at Chicago when they went to an up-tempo offense in the fourth quarter. Bortles played better, and Jacksonville did enough to overcome a 13-0 deficit in the final quarter. Could they use it earlier in the game?I think its easier to find a rhythm, he said. Our offense feels good and comfortable in it, and we do a good job moving the ball so its definitely good to see that and have confidence in that package and know we have that in our back pocket if we need it.LONG TRIP: The Raiders will stay in Florida after the game, practicing for the week in Bradenton before playing next Sunday at Tampa Bay. Coach Jack Del Rio opted against an extra cross-country flight for the chance to keep the team together for a week in what will be like a mini-training camp setup.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '