Simone Manuel has reached the pinnacle of the sport, shattered barriers and broken records but now her ambition is to rediscover her love of swimming.
Simone became the first Black woman to win Olympic swimming gold with victory in the 100m freestyle at Rio 2016. Despite being Olympic champion, Simone felt she was the underdog going into the 2017 World Championships. Instead, the greatest pressure was that which she put on herself to inspire Black swimmers and instil belief that they can reach their goals.
In a film called “Head Above Water” made by TOGETHXR, Simone said: “I think heavily (that’s) because there aren’t many of us and so I feel like if I am healthy and I can continue to do this, I want to win. For myself but also for that kid to feel like they can be at the top of the podium as well.”
Five golds among six medals in Budapest was followed by more history two years later where she became the most decorated woman at a single World Championships with four golds and three silvers. She was also the first American woman to win the 50m and 100m freestyle double.
However, the pandemic and its accompanying uncertainty along with being in the unremitting glare of the spotlight as a Black champion pushing for diversification within swimming weighed heavily. A diagnosis of overtraining followed and the Tokyo Olympics were “not fun at all”.
In August 2022 she announced she would be joining the star-studded pro group at Arizona State University.
Now her goal is to find that love of the water once more, free from any burden.
“I just want to swim with no pressure or expectations from anybody – even myself – and I don’t know what that looks like,” she said. “Just really falling back in love with the sport and being happy doing it and then getting back to competing at the highest level and hopefully winning some more medals.”
