For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next up is Simone Manuel.
Simone Manuel is one of the fastest swimmers in the world, and she’s off to Tokyo to try to add to her already fantastic resume and bring home more hardware after winning two gold and two silver medals at the 2016 Rio Games.
The 24-year-old freestyle sprinter from Sugar Land, Texas will race at the Olympics in the 50-meter freestyle — an event she won at Olympic Trials last month with a time of 24.29, which was about .3 off her American record of 23.97. If you don’t know too much about swimming, that’s incredibly fast. (Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström holds the world record at 23.67.)
Although Manuel graduated from Stanford in 2018 — she was a 14-time NCAA champion, 21-time All-American and a member of two NCAA championship teams — she still trains with Stanford coach Greg Meehan, along with fellow Cardinal alum Katie Ledecky (which included temporarily relocating to a backyard pool because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
Now a pro and headed into her second Olympics as a team captain, here are five things to know about Manuel.
