Simone Manuel

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Simone Manuel
Simone Manuel before a race
Manuel at the 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia
Personal information
Full nameSimone Ashley Manuel
National teamUnited States
Born (1996-08-02) August 2, 1996 (age 25)
Sugar Land, Texas, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight148 lb (67 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
College teamStanford University
Medal record

Simone Ashley Manuel (born August 2, 1996) is an American competition swimmer specializing in sprint freestyle. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals: gold in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley, and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In winning the 100-meter freestyle, a tie with Penny Oleksiak of Canada, Manuel became the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal as the anchor of the American 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.

Manuel also holds three world records as a member of a relay team, and she is a six-time individual NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships champion, becoming one of the first three African American women to place in the top three spots in the 100-yard freestyle event in any Division I NCAA Swimming Championship. From 2014 to 2018, she attended Stanford University, where she swam for the Stanford Cardinal and helped Stanford win the NCAA team championship in women's swimming and diving in 2017 and 2018. She turned pro in July 2018.

Swimming career[]

Manuel swam at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, placing 20th in the 50-meter freestyle and 17th in the 100-meter freestyle events.[1][2][3]

After entering Stanford in 2014, she became a member of the Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.[4] She broke the school records in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle in the same year,[5] and in 2014, her freshman year, she also broke the American and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records for 100-yard freestyle.[6] Manuel is a six-time individual NCAA champion: winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle in 2015, 2017, and 2018.[1][7][8] She redshirted in 2016.

She competed at the 2013 US National Championships, where she finished third in the 100-meter freestyle and second in the 50-meter freestyle events. She qualified for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, and she won a gold medal in the preliminary for the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. She also competed in the 2013 Duel in the Pool, where she won first in the 100-meter freestyle, third in the 50-meter freestyle, second in the 400-meter freestyle relay, and first in the 200-meter mixed medley relay.[1]

The medal ceremony at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia
Lochte, Adrian, Manuel, and Franklin (center, left to right) together hold the mixed 4 × 100 m freestyle relay world record.

At the 2014 US National Championships, she finished first in the 50-meter freestyle, second in the 100-meter freestyle, and seventh in the 200-meter freestyle. She competed in that year's Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, where she won bronze in the 100-meter freestyle, silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle and 4x100 medley relays, and placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle.[1]

In 2015, Manuel won her first two individual NCAA championships, winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle,[1] setting an NCAA, American, U.S. Open, Championship, and Pool record in 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.09.[9] She also placed second in the 200-yard freestyle event.[1] She became one of the first three African American women to place in the top three spots in the 100-yard freestyle event in any Division I NCAA Swimming Championship.[9] She competed in the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, placing fourth in the 4x100 medley relay, sixth in the 100-meter freestyle, and eighth in the 50-meter freestyle.[1]

As a senior, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female swimmer as well as the Honda Cup for the best overall female collegiate athlete.[10][11][12]

2016 Summer Olympics[]

See also: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Olympics
Gold medal – first place 100 m freestyle 52.70 (AR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m medley 3:53.13
Silver medal – second place 4×100 m freestyle relay 3:31.89 (AR)
Silver medal – second place 50 m freestyle 24.09

Manuel swam in the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, placing second in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and seventh in the 200-meter freestyle. Her position in the 50- and 100-meter events qualified her to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[1]

She won a silver medal as part of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay along with Abbey Weitzeil, Dana Vollmer, and Katie Ledecky. She tied with Penny Oleksiak of Canada for the gold medal in the 100 m freestyle, both setting an Olympic record of 52.70.[13] Manuel is the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event[13][14] and is also said to be the first black woman to achieve this.[15][16][17][18] She later won silver in the 50-meter freestyle event and gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay.[19][20][21]

2017 World Championships[]

2017 World Championships
Gold medal – first place 100 m freestyle 52.27 (AR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m freestyle 3:31.72 (AR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m medley 3:51.55 (WR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m mixed medley 3:38.56 (WR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m mixed freestyle 3:19.60 (WR)
Bronze medal – third place 50 m freestyle 23.97 (AR)

At the 2017 US Nationals, the qualification meet for the World Championships in Budapest, Manuel won the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.27 and touched second in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 53.05.

On the first day of the World Championships, Manuel anchored the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay to a gold medal alongside Mallory Comerford, Kelsi Worrell, and Ledecky. She split a very fast 52.14 to anchor the team to a new American record time of 3:31.72.[22] Manuel picked up her second gold of the meet when she anchored the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay with a split of 52.17. Together with Matt Grevers, Lilly King, and Caeleb Dressel, the team broke the world record in a time of 3:38.56.[23] Manuel's first individual event of the meet was the 100-meter freestyle, where Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström was widely considered the favorite to win since she had broken the world record while leading off the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on the first night of the World Championships. In similar fashion to the previous summer at the Olympics, Manuel upset the favorite by coming from behind to win the 100-meter freestyle with an American record time of 52.27, out touching Sjöström by just four-hundredths of a second.[24] The day after, she won her fourth gold medal in the mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay, where she split 52.18 on the anchoring leg. Alongside Comerford, Dressel, and Nathan Adrian, they set a world record of 3:19.60.[25] On the last night of the meet, Manuel swam the finals of both the 50-meter freestyle and the women's 4x100-meter medley relay. Touching in a bronze-winning time of 23.97, she set the American record and became the first American woman to break the 24-second barrier in the 50-meter freestyle.[26] Manuel then anchored the women's 4x100-meter medley relay to a winning time of 3:51.55. The team of Kathleen Baker, King, Worrell, and Manuel broke the 2012 world record of 3:52.05 set by Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, and Allison Schmitt.[27][28]

Professional career[]

Manuel turned pro in July 2018, forgoing her final season with Stanford.[29] On July 24, 2018, she signed with TYR Sport, Inc., joining former Stanford teammates Katie Ledecky and Lia Neal.[30]

2019 World Championships[]

2019 World Championships
Gold medal – first place 50 m freestyle 24.05
Gold medal – first place 100 m freestyle 52.04 (AR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m medley 3:50.40 (WR)
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m mixed freestyle 3:19.40 (WR)
Silver medal – second place 4×100 m freestyle 3:31.02 (AR)
Silver medal – second place 4×200 m freestyle 7:41.87 (AR)
Silver medal – second place 4×100 m mixed medley 3:39.10

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2019, Manuel became the first female American swimmer to win both the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle events at a single FINA long course World Aquatics Championships meet.[31][32][33] Manuel won a total of seven medals, four gold and three silver medals, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.[32][34] This was most won by any female in the sport of swimming at a single FINA World Aquatics Championships series meet conducted in long course meters.[32] In the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter medley relay, and 4x100-meter mixed freestyle relay she won gold. She won silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and 4x100-meter mixed medley relay.[35]

Manuel's accomplishments were highlighted by USA Swimming and she was the recipient of the 2019 "Female Athlete of the Year" award at the 2019 Golden Goggles Awards.[36]

2021[]

2020 US Olympic Trials[]

At the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials, postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manuel competed in the 100-meter freestyle and the 50-meter freestyle.[37] In the 100-meter freestyle, she ranked 9th in the semifinals and did not qualify for the final.[37] She attributed her performance to overtraining syndrome.[38][39] In the 50-meter freestyle, Manuel ranked first in the final with a time of 24.29, qualifying for the US Olympic swim team in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[37][40][41]

2020 Summer Olympics[]

See also: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
2020 Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 4×100 m freestyle relay 3:32.81

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan were the second Olympic Games Manuel qualified to compete in.[42] She was selected as one of three first time captains, Allison Schmitt was selected as the only second time captain, along with Ryan Murphy and Caeleb Dressel for the USA Olympic swim team.[43]

While Manuel did not qualify to swim in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 US Olympic Trials, Team USA coach Greg Meehan decided to put her on the relay in the finals of the event at the 2020 Olympic Games in place of some of the relay-only swimmers who qualified at the US Olympic Trials and had already swum in the prelims.[44][45] Manuel was entered as the anchor, fourth, swimmer for the relay.[44][45][46] In the final, Manuel helped the relay finish in third place with a time of 3:32.81 and won her first medal of the 2020 Olympics, a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.[47][48]

On day seven of competition, Manuel swam a 24.65 in the prelims heats of the 50-meter freestyle and advanced to the semifinals ranked 11th overall.[49] On day eight, in the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle, Manuel finished with a time of 24.63, ranked 11th overall, and did not advance to the final of the event.[50][51]

Personal bests[]

As of August 1, 2017
Long course (50 m pool)
Event Time City Date Notes Ref
50 m freestyle 23.97 Budapest, Hungary July 30, 2017 NR, AM [26]
100 m freestyle 52.04 Gwangju, South Korea July 26, 2019 NR, AM [13][52]
50 yd freestyle (SC) 21.17 March 16, 2017
100 yd freestyle (SC) 45.56 March 18, 2017 NR, AM
NR – National Record
AM – Americas Record

World records[]

Distance Event Time Location Date Ref
4 x 50 m Mixed medley relay[a] 1:37.17 Glasgow, Scotland December 21, 2013 [53]
4 × 100 m Mixed freestyle relay[b] 3:23.05 Kazan, Russia August 8, 2015 [54]
4 × 100 m Women's medley relay (sc)[c] 3:45.20 Indianapolis, Indiana December 11, 2015 [55]
4 × 100 m Mixed medley relay[d] 3:38.56 Budapest, Hungary July 27, 2017 [56]
4 × 100 m Mixed freestyle relay[e] 3:19.60 Budapest, Hungary July 29, 2017 [57]
4 × 100 m Women's medley relay[f] 3:51.55 Budapest, Hungary July 30, 2017 [58]
4 x 100 m Mixed freestyle relay[g] 3:19.40 Gwangju, South Korea July 27, 2019 [35]
a with Eugene Godsoe, Kevin Cordes, and Claire Donahue
b with Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, and Missy Franklin
c short course record with Courtney Bartholomew, Katie Meili, and Kelsi Worrell
d with Matt Grevers, Lilly King, and Caeleb Dressel
e with Caeleb Dressel, Nathan Adrian, and Mallory Comerford
f with Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, and Kelsi Worrell
g with Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple, and Mallory Comerford

References[]

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External links[]

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