INDIANAPOLIS — Simone Manuel earned a spot in the individual Olympic competition by winning the 50-meter freestyle on the final day of the USA Swimming Trials Sunday night.
Manuel, who has recovered from overtraining syndrome that had hampered his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics, sprinted from one end of the pool to the other in 24.13 seconds.
When she saw the number “1” next to her name on the scoreboard, she looked a little surprised and pumped her fist vigorously. She kept shaking her head as she walked across the deck.
“I wasn't feeling very confident after last night's race,” said Manuel, who was fourth-fastest in the semifinals, nearly half a second behind Gretchen Walsh. “I spent a lot of time watching the races I'd won. I know I'm a winner, so I wanted to emulate Simone.”
She had already qualified for her third Olympic Games in the 4x100m freestyle relay, but this time it was her only event.
Manuel is looking to add to an already illustrious resume that included becoming the first black female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
She was a huge star at that Olympics, winning two gold medals and two silver medals all-around.
But ahead of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, Manuel's times began to slip and, after failing to qualify in the 100m freestyle, she revealed she had been diagnosed with overtraining syndrome.
Manuel qualified to compete in the 50m freestyle but did not qualify for the Olympic final, her only medal being a bronze medal as the anchor of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
After the competition, Manuel was told by doctors to stop all exercise until her body was fully recovered. She finally returned to the pool in early 2023, but was unable to qualify for that summer's world championships.
But after moving to Arizona and training under Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' longtime coach, the results began to come.
Now she has another Olympic race to show for her achievements.
