Simone Manuel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Simone Manuel

Manuel in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1996-08-02) August 2, 1996 (age 29) Sugar Land, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in
Weight	148 lbs
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
College team	Stanford University
Medal record Women's swimming Representing  United States Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 4 1 World Championships (LC) 11 4 2 Pan Pacific Championships 0 6 2 Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m freestyle Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 50 m freestyle Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2024 Paris 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2024 Paris 4×200 m freestyle Bronze 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 2013 Barcelona 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2015 Kazan 4×100 m mixed freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 100 m freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m medley Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m mixed freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m mixed medley Gold 2019 Gwangju 50 m freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 100 m freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m medley Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m mixed freestyle Silver 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2019 Gwangju 4×200 m freestyle Silver 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m mixed medley Silver 2025 Singapore 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2015 Kazan 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2017 Budapest 50 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Silver 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m medley Silver 2018 Tokyo 50 m freestyle Silver 2018 Tokyo 100 m freestyle Silver 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m medley Bronze 2014 Gold Coast 100 m freestyle Bronze 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m mixed medley Junior Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2012 Honolulu 100 m freestyle Gold 2012 Honolulu 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2012 Honolulu 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2012 Honolulu 4×100 m medley

Olympics official video: 100m freestyle Olympic gold for Manuel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nwJLOV1LhY

Simone Ashley Manuel (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional swimmer. She is famous for her amazing skills in freestyle races. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals. She earned gold in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter medley relay. She also won silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.

When Simone won the 100-meter freestyle, she tied with Penny Oleksiak from Canada. This made Simone the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming. She also set new Olympic and American records! At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal. This was for being the anchor swimmer in the American 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.

Simone Manuel also holds three world records as part of a relay team. She is a six-time individual champion in college swimming. She was one of the first three African-American women to finish in the top three in the 100-yard freestyle at a major college championship. From 2014 to 2018, she studied at Stanford University. There, she swam for the Stanford Cardinal team. She helped Stanford win the NCAA team championship in women's swimming and diving in 2017 and 2018. She became a professional swimmer in July 2018.

When Simone started at Stanford in 2014, she quickly became a star on the women's swimming team. In her first year, she broke school records in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle events. She also set new American and NCAA records for the 100-yard freestyle. Simone won six individual NCAA championships. She won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races in 2015, 2017, and 2018. In 2016, she took a break from competing in college. In her senior year, she won the Honda Sports Award. This award goes to the best female swimmer in the nation. She also won the Honda Cup, which is for the best overall female college athlete.

Simone Manuel's Swimming Journey

Early Career and Junior Championships

Simone Manuel started competing at a young age. In 2012, she took part in the United States Olympic Trials. She placed 20th in the 50-meter freestyle and 17th in the 100-meter freestyle.

The next month, when she was 16, Simone competed at the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Honolulu. She won four gold medals there! These were for the 100-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter freestyle relay, 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and 4×100-meter medley relay. She also did well in other races.

2013: First World Championship Gold

In 2013, Simone competed at the US National Championships. She finished third in the 100-meter freestyle and second in the 50-meter freestyle.

She then qualified for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain. There, she helped her team win a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. She swam in the preliminary race, helping the team advance.

Simone also competed in the 2013 Duel in the Pool. She won first place in the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter mixed medley relay.

2014: Pan Pacific Success

At the 2014 US National Championships, Simone won the 50-meter freestyle. She also placed second in the 100-meter freestyle.

Later that year, she competed in the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. She earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle. She also won silver medals in the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100 medley relays.

2015: College and World Championships

Lochte, Adrian, Manuel, and Franklin (center, left to right) together hold the mixed 4 × 100 m freestyle relay world record.

In 2015, Simone won her first two individual NCAA championships. She won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. In the 100-yard freestyle, she set new records for NCAA, American, U.S. Open, Championship, and the pool itself with a time of 46.09 seconds. She also placed second in the 200-yard freestyle.

She was one of the first three African-American women to place in the top three in the 100-yard freestyle at any Division I NCAA Swimming Championship. She also competed in the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

2016 Summer Olympics: Making History

Simone swam in the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. She finished second in both the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events. These results qualified her to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

At the Olympics, she won a silver medal with the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team. Then, she made history! She tied with Penny Oleksiak of Canada for the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle. Both swimmers set a new Olympic record of 52.70 seconds. Simone became the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event. She later won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and another gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay.

2017 World Championships: Multiple Golds and Records

At the 2017 US Nationals, Simone won the 50-meter freestyle. She also placed second in the 100-meter freestyle. These results helped her qualify for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

At the World Championships, Simone was incredible. She helped the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay team win a gold medal and set a new American record. She also helped the mixed 4×100-meter medley relay team win gold and break a world record.

In her individual 100-meter freestyle race, Simone won gold. She set a new American record of 52.27 seconds, beating the favorite, Sarah Sjöström. The next day, she won her fourth gold medal in the mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay, setting another world record. On the last night, she won a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle, becoming the first American woman to swim it under 24 seconds. She then helped the women's 4×100-meter medley relay team win gold and break a world record.

2019 World Championships: Most Medals for a Female Swimmer

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Simone Manuel made history again. She became the first American female swimmer to win both the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle events at a single World Championships.

Overall, Simone won an amazing seven medals at the 2019 World Championships: four gold and three silver. This was the most medals won by any female swimmer at a single FINA World Aquatics Championships. For her incredible achievements, USA Swimming honored her with the "Female Athlete of the Year" award at the 2019 Golden Goggles Awards.

2020 Tokyo Olympics: A Bronze Medal

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, were Simone's second Olympic Games. She was chosen as one of the team captains for the USA Olympic swim team.

Even though she didn't qualify for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the US Olympic Trials, the team coach decided to put her in the final race at the Olympics. Simone swam the anchor leg (the last part) of the relay. She helped the team finish in third place, earning a bronze medal. This was her first medal of the 2020 Olympics.

In the 50-meter freestyle, Simone swam in the preliminary heats and advanced to the semifinals. However, she did not make it to the final race for that event.

Sponsorships and Professional Career

In July 2018, Simone Manuel decided to become a full-time professional swimmer. This meant she would not swim for Stanford anymore. On July 24, 2018, she signed a deal with TYR Sport, Inc., a popular swimwear company. She joined other famous swimmers like Katie Ledecky and Lia Neal. Simone also had other sponsors, like the car company Toyota, during the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Making a Difference: Activism and Outreach

Helping More Kids Learn to Swim

Simone Manuel works with many groups to help more people get into swimming. She wants to make sure everyone has a chance to learn.

Make A Splash Foundation

Simone is an ambassador for the Make A Splash organization. This group helps communities teach swimming lessons to kids who might not otherwise get them. They give money to local swim schools. The program teaches important swimming and water safety skills to young children from areas that don't have many resources. Often, these lessons are free.

Inclusion Rider in Her Contract

When Simone signed her deal with TYR Sport, Inc. in 2018, she did something new. She added an "inclusion rider" to her contract. This is usually seen in the entertainment world. It means that her partners (like TYR) must give good opportunities to groups of people who haven't had many chances before. It also means that diversity should be shown in the projects she does with the brand. This was the first time such an agreement was made in professional sports!

Partnering with LeBron James' Promise School

In 2019, Simone worked with basketball star LeBron James' Promise School in Akron, Ohio. Together, they created a four-week summer swim program for the school's students. The Akron YMCA hosted the program and helped with funding. Out of 140 kids who attended, 90% had never been in a pool before!

Even though Simone was training for the Olympics and couldn't be there every day, she visited the school earlier that year. She introduced the program and met the kids. During the camp, Simone sent videos with tips and encouragement. Her sponsor, TYR, also gave the children swimsuits and other gear for the camp.

Simone Manuel's Best Times

These are some of Simone Manuel's fastest swimming times.

NR – National Record

AM – Americas Record

World Records Held by Simone Manuel

Simone Manuel has been part of several relay teams that set new world records.

with Eugene Godsoe, Kevin Cordes, and Claire Donahue

with Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, and Missy Franklin

short course record with Courtney Bartholomew, Katie Meili, and Kelsi Worrell

with Matt Grevers, Lilly King, and Caeleb Dressel

with Caeleb Dressel, Nathan Adrian, and Mallory Comerford

with Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, and Kelsi Worrell

with Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple, and Mallory Comerford

Awards and Honors

Simone Manuel has received many awards for her swimming achievements:

• Forbes, 30 Under 30 in sports: 2022
• Honda Sports Award (Swimming & Diving): 2017–2018
• Honda Cup, Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (Swimming & Diving): 2017–2018
• Golden Goggle Award, Female Athlete of the Year: 2019
• SwimSwam Swammy Award, US Swimmer of the Year (female): 2019
• Golden Goggle Award, Female Race of the Year: 2016
• Golden Goggle Award, Relay Performance of the Year: 2017, 2019
• SwimSwam Top 100 (Women's): 2021 (#5)

See also

In Spanish: Simone Manuel para niños