Simone Manuel has spoken after her third trip to the Olympics. The pioneer and trailblazing swimmer, the first Black swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal, finished her 2024 trip to Paris with two silver medals in women’s 4x relays.
“It’s different this time around,” Manuel posted in a statement on social media. “Not perfect, but so many pools and pools of progress achieved!”
Manuel, 28, was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome in March 2021. After participating in the 2021 games in Tokyo, Manuel was ordered to rest and not train for five months — a big ask of a perfectionist who attended Stanford University while making history.
“Around this time three years ago, on Aug. 2, my 25th birthday, I flew back home from the Tokyo Olympic Games completely broken,” Manuel wrote on social media. “It felt like my whole world came crashing down. I was devasted, depressed, embarrassed and disappointed to name a few.”
Manuel bounced back from her diagnosis and returned to the pool, qualifying for her third Olympics. She also married her college sweetheart and former Stanford football player Denzel Franklin between the 2021 games and this summer.
“This time around, I’m reinvigorated!” Manuel posted. “Sure, I’m bummed about how I performed, but I can’t help but accept and acknowledge the massive strides I made in the face of headwinds and the winding roads I traveled to reach my goals.”
The Houston native then thanked God.
“In moments like these, it’s really easy to overlook the good,” she posted. “…but I’ve learned that in these moments, it’s even more crucial to recognize the WINS and be thankful for how far God brought me, and how He has sustained me every single day throughout this journey.”
Manuel said shifting her perspective on life has landed her in a space where she now has more passion for swimming than before, which she didn’t know was possible.
“While I rest up to prepare for the next stop on my journey, I’m choosing to give myself grace,” Manuel posted. “Grace isn’t a symptom of complacency. Trust me, I’m not that. It’s a sign of resilience, maturity and awareness … I know that I am so much more than a swimmer. So much more than the races I’ve won or lost, the records I’ve broken or the history I’ve made.”
Manuel has also co-founded Togethxr alongside Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Jessica Robertson, a media and commerce company, since her life-changing performance in the 2016 Olympic games.
Read Manuel’s entire message below.
3x US Olympian
7x Olympic Medalist 🥇🥇🥈🥈🥈🥈🥉
Attitude of gratitude ❤️🔥 Merci beaucoup, Paris!
Feel free to read some of my reflections… I promise they’ll get shorter 😂🥹
Photo: Mike Lewis pic.twitter.com/TCWd4L7dyv
— Simone Manuel (@swimone) August 7, 2024
