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Swimsuit worn by Simone Manuel during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

American History Museum

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    Object Details

    user

    Manuel, Simone

    Description (Brief)

    Swimsuit worn by Simone Manuel during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games is a one piece women's jammer consisting of a one piece swimsuit with fabric to the knee. Manuel became the first African American woman in history to win an individual Olympic Gold medal in swimming during the Rio Games.
    The 2016 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 207 countries and 11,238 athletes participating. These were the first Olympic Games held entirely in the host country’s winter season and the first to be held in South America. These Games were designed with sustainability in mind and many of the features of the Games were made from recyclable materials. The Refugee Olympic Team entered 10 athletes for competition made up of refugees from the European Migrant crisis. The Zika virus was a factor in competition as many athletes decided to forgo the Games for fear of catching the virus spread through mosquitos. Michael Phelps came out of retirement to compete in the Games and added more medals to his historic count. Katie Ledecky won four gold medals and teammate Simone Manual won two gold and two silver medals becoming the first African American to win an individual swimming gold medal. Simone Biles dominated gymnastics, winning four gold and the women’s team won the all-around competition. The United States won the medal count with 121.

    Location

    Currently not on view

    date made

    2016

    ID Number

    2016.0329.01

    accession number

    2016.0329

    catalog number

    2016.0329.01

    Object Name

    swimsuit
    swimsuit, summer olympics

    Physical Description

    fabric, nylon (overall material)

    Measurements

    overall: 30 in x 11 1/2 in; 76.2 cm x 29.21 cm

    See more items in

    Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
    Sports & Leisure

    Data Source

    National Museum of American History

    name of sport

    Swimming

    level of sport

    Amateur
    Olympics

    web subject

    African American
    Women

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-1751-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

    Record ID

    nmah_1823347

    Discover More

    woman swimming

    Game Changers: American Women Athletes Who Made History

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