Simone Manuel

Simone Manuel

Simone Manuel before an race

Manuel in 2015
Personal information
Full name Simone Ashley Manuel
National team  United States
Born (1996-08-02) August 2, 1996
Sugar Land, Texas
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 148 lb (67 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
College team Stanford University

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 African-American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record.

Manuel also holds three world records as a member of a relay team, and she is a two-time individual National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. Since 2014, she has attended Stanford University where she swims for the Stanford Cardinal.

Biography

Manuel at a swim meet
Manuel in 2014

Simone Manuel was born in Sugar Land, Texas[1][2] on August 2, 1996.[3] She has two older brothers,[3] one of whom played basketball for Southern Methodist University.[4] Her parents encouraged competitive sports in the three children, and Manuel was introduced to swimming through her brothers, who swam summer league competition.[5] She asked to join the swimming team at four, and she was enrolled in swimming lessons.[5][6] She was swimming with her local club, First Colony Swim Team, by eleven,[7] and there she swam under head coach Alison Beebe, whom Manuel cited as a significant teacher.[6][8] She graduated from Fort Bend Austin High School in 2014[4] and started attending Stanford University the same year.[2]

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.[4][9][10]

After entering Stanford in 2014, she is a member of the Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.[7] She broke the school records in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle in the same year,[11] and in 2014, her freshman year, she also broke the American and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records for 100-yard freestyle.[12] Manuel is a two-time individual NCAA champion: winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle in 2015.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

In 2015, Manuel became a two-time individual NCAA champion, winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle,[4] setting an NCAA, American, U.S. Open, Championship, and Pool record in 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.09.[13] She also placed second in the 200-yard freestyle event.[4] 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.[13] 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.[4]

2016 Summer Olympics

2016 Olympics
2016 Rio 100 m freestyle
2016 Rio 4×100 m medley
2016 Rio 4×100 m freestyle relay
2016 Rio 50 m freestyle

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.[4]

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.[14] Manuel is the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event[14][15] and also the first black woman to achieve this.[16][17] She later won silver in the 50-meter freestyle event and gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay.[3][18]

Career best times

Long course (50 m pool)
Event Time City Date Notes Ref
50 m freestyle 24.08 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 13, 2016 [19]
100 m freestyle 52.70 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 11, 2016 NR, OR [14][20]
NR - National Record
OR - Olympic Record

World records

The medal ceremony at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia
Lochte, Adrian, Manuel, and Franklin (center, left to right) together hold the mixed 4x100 m medley relay world record.
Distance Event Time Location Date Ref
4 x 50 m Medley relay (Mixed)[a] 1:37.17 Glasgow, Scotland December 21, 2013 [21]
4 × 100 m Medley relay (Mixed)[b] 3:23.05 Kazan, Russia August 8, 2015 [22]
4 x 100 m Medley relay (Women)[c] 3:45.20 Indianapolis, Indiana December 11, 2015 [23]
a with Eugene Godsoe, Kevin Cordes, and Claire Donahue
b with Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, and Missy Franklin
c with Courtney Bartholomew, Katie Meili, and Kelsi Worrell

References

  1. ↑ Bragg, Ko (August 12, 2016). "5 Things to Know About Simone Manuel". NBC. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Gaspard, Whitney (August 12, 2016). "Simone Manuel Makes History: 5 Things to Know About the Olympic Medalist". Essence. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Simone Manuel". NBC Olympics. NBC. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Simone Manuel". USA Swimming. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Lepesant, Anne (August 12, 2016). "#SwimMomMonday: A Conversation with Simone Manuel's Mom, Sharron". SwimSwam. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Barron, David (July 30, 2016). "Simone Manuel: The closer in swimming's fastest events". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Berkay, Melissa (July 24, 2016). "4 Reasons to Be A Fan of First-Time Olympian Simone Manuel". Swimming World. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ Burnett, Tayrn (Spring 2014). "Finding Her Place in the Water" (PDF). Sugar Land Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 50 metre freestyle (heats)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 100 metre freestyle (heats)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ Shinn, Peggy (June 16, 2016). "Meet Simone Manuel, The Swimmer Missy Franklin Calls Fearless". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Simone Manuel". SwimSwam. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Nelson, Christopher (March 23, 2015). "Three College Swimmers Make History At NCAA Championship". NBC. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Rogers, Katie (August 12, 2016). "A Closer Look at Simone Manuel, Olympic Medalist, History Maker". New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ Almasy, Steve. "Rio day 6: Simone Manuel makes history, Phelps gets 22nd gold". CNN. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak take joint gold". BBC. August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ Diaz, Evelyn (August 11, 2016). "Team USA Swimmer Simone Manuel Scores Historic Gold Medal at Olympics". BET. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Rio 2016 Olympic Games - Swimming - Women's 50m Freestyle". NBC. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  19. ↑ "2016 Olympic Games - Team USA Day 8 Live Recap". USA Swimming. August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Simone Manuel". USA Swimming. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Duel in the Pool: Team USA Uses World Record in Tiebreaker Mixed Relay to Win 132-131". Swimming World. December 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ "16th FINA World Championships". Omega Watches. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Watch Team USA Set Women's 400 Medley Relay World Record (ALL DUEL RACE VIDEOS!)". Swimming World. December 11, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
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