OlympicTalk · Jul 24, 2020
Simone Manuel’s experiences, before and after Rio, shape her voice for change today
A pivotal 45 minutes of Simone Manuel‘s swimming career transpired at last summer’s world championships.
Manuel had just underperformed in the semifinals of her best event, the 100m freestyle, tying for seventh place to get into the eight-woman final.
That came after relay silver medals behind rival Australia in her first two events, including getting passed on the anchor leg the night before (granted, in the first relay, Manuel had her best 100m split ever).
Three years earlier at the Rio Olympics, Manuel tied for the 100m free title with Canadian Penny Oleksiak. It was an upset. Manuel became the first U.S. Black female swimmer to take individual gold.