MANUEL ANCHORS RELAY.
Simone Manuel: Silver and gold finishes cap a week that was about more than swimming
RIO DE JANEIRO — Simone Manuel will return to Sugar Land with four Olympic medals, taking silver in the 400-meter freestyle relay on Night 1 at the Olympic Aquatic Center and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and gold in the 400-meter medley relay Saturday night.
But it’s the fourth — gold in the 100-meter freestyle — that will resonate inside and outside USA Swimming as long as people care about pioneers, pacesetters and the pursuit of excellence.
Manuel, 20, a junior at Stanford University, in the 100 free became the first black woman to win an individual Olympic medal, and that will be the takeaway from this week for most.
While acutely aware of the manner in which she has become a role model, Manuel also is a competitor, and that can’t be overlooked.
“Racing is what I love to do,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love it. This a dream come true. I’m just so happy.”
The week opened with a silver medal as the leadoff swimmer in the 400 free relay, but her ambitions crystalized when she saw Lilly King, Katie Meili and Kathleen Baker win medals Tuesday.
“I said, ‘I want one of those,’ ” Manuel said.
She couldn’t have picked a tougher race than the 100 freestyle, where Australian Cate Campbell’s best time was a second faster than the field. But Manuel prevailed, sharing the gold with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak.
“Not a single person picked Simone Manuel to beat Cate Campbell,” NBC analyst Rowdy Gaines said. “Her winning the gold medal was the shock of the Olympic Games.”
It also proved, Manuel said, that she belonged at the Olympics.
“Getting the gold medal boosted my confidence, and I had a feeling (Saturday) that I was going to do great in the 50 free. And if I did great in the 50 free, I was going to do great in the relay,” she said.
She came within .02 seconds of gold in the 50 free, finishing just behind Pernille Bloom of Denmark in a time of 24.09. In the medley relay, she joined Baker, King and veteran Dana Vollmer of Gran bury to win the 1,000th gold medal in U.S. history. ‘We are doing amazing things’
But as teammates cheered a great week for Simone the competitor, their appreciation was heightened by their knowledge of Manuel’s importance for young black swimmers.
Maya DiRado, her former Stanford teammate, said Manuel “carries a huge burden, but she carries it so well. She has changed the lives of so many little boys and girls.”
Manuel appreciates the “Black Girl Magic” hashtag that recognizes young women of color. But she also hopes to move on to a place where talent is an equal topic of discussion.
“I work just as hard as anybody, and I deserve to be here like everybody else,” she said. “We are doing amazing things and inspiring people, and it’s amazing to help someone believe they can do the same things.”
Her mother, Sharron Manuel, said she began talking with her daughter as a high school student at Fort Bend Austin about the point in time when her talent would make her a symbol to many.
“When you have a gift and a talent, it is your responsibility to share with the world,” Sharron Manuel said. “She could focus and have fun, but there would come a time when she would have to realize this was about more than her. I think (winning the gold medal) was that moment.”
Manuel calls herself one of the youngsters in sprint swimming. At only 20, and with three years’ eligibility left at Stanford, a run for the 2020 Olympics and a higher profile in USA Swimming is a certainty.
“She definitely wants to reach out to help young girls whohave dreams,” said Allison Beebe, her former coach at First Colony Swim Team. “If she can continue to swim for Simone and not to be pulled in different directions and can balance that, she will continue to have fun with the sport.” ‘Transformational’ achievement
Gaines said Manuel’s win “will be transformational. It will change our sport forever.”
“It’s going to take a tremendous amount of effort,” he said. “But it’s easier when you can have someone you can point to. Women are the key to getting people of color into the water.”
As for Manuel’s desire to be known as more than “Simone the black swimmer,” Gaines notes the attention she along with Lia Neal and Natalie Hinds of Midland (and the University of Florida) attracted in 2015 as the first black women to sweep the 100 free at the NCAA championships.
A year later, when all three made the finals again, Gaines said the topic of race never came up.
“That’s how Simone wants it to be, and that is the way I would want it to be,” he said. “When the day comes that we have more people of color winning medals, we won’t make such a big deal of it.”
That day maybe coming closer. One week ago, she was an Olympic rookie. At midweek, she was a gold medalist. By Saturday night, she was a four-time medalist with two golds — one week in the life of Simone Manuel, the closer of USASwimming.