Simone Manuel Biography
Simone Manuel is an American competitive swimmer specializing in sprint freestyle from Sugarland Texas. She is best known for becoming the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event when she took gold in the 100-meter freestyle, setting an Olympic record of 52.70, tying Canadian Penny Oleksiak for first place. She also took another gold in the 4*100-meter medley relay and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 2016 Olympics. She also holds three world records as a member of a relay team, and she is a six-time individual NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Champion, becoming one of the first three African-American women to place in the top three spots in the 100-yard freestyle event in any Division I NCAA Swimming Championship. In 2019, Simone won the US Female Swimmer of the year Swammy Award for her accomplishments at the World Championships. Simone has grown into 200 freestylers while the 2021 USA Olympic Swimming Trials.
Besides, she is quite active on social media platforms. she has around 185k followers on Instagram @swimone, more than 111k followers on Twitter @swimone, and about 83k followers on her official Facebook page.
Early Life & Family
Simone Manuel was born on August 2, 1996, in Sugar Land, Texas, the United States. Her birth name is Simone Ashley Manuel. She comes from proper athlete background, whereas her Parents Marc Manuel (father) and Sharron Manuel (mother) both were former student-athletes. She has two older brothers named Christopher Manuel and Ryan Manuel, they are also college-level athletes in basketball. She is American by nationality. She belongs to the African-American ethnicity and her race is black. As per her birth date, her zodiac sign is Leo. Her religious belief is in Christianity.
Regarding her education, she attended Fort Bend Austin High School in Sugar Land and graduated in 2014 from there. Later on, She graduated with a communication degree from Stanford University in 2018.
Simone Manuel's Swimming Career
- Simone Manuel started taking swimming lessons at age of four. She had joined the first colony swim team in Houston by the age of eleven. Under the guidance of her first colony coach Allison Beebe, Manuel developed into the top-ranked swimmer in her age group in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events.
- Simone made her international debut at the 2011 FINA World Junior Championships, earning a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle.
- In the following year, she competed in the Junior pan-Pacific Swimming Championships by winning the 100-meter.
- At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Manuel placed 20th in the 50-meter freestyle and 17th in the 100-meter freestyle events.
- At the 2013 United States National Championships, she finished third in the 100-meter freestyle and second in the 50-meter freestyle events. Also, she qualified for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, where she won a gold medal in the preliminary for the 4*100-meter freestyle relay.
- She competed in the 2014 U.S. National Championships and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships where she won Bronze and Silver medals.
- In 2015, Manuel became a two-time NCAA champion, winning the 50 and 100-yard freestyle. That year, she also competed in the 2015 World Aquatics Championships where she placed fourth in the 4*100 medley relay, sixth in the 100-meter freestyle, and eighth in the 50-meter freestyle.
- In 2016, she qualified to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in the Fio de Janeiro. Where she won two gold and two silver medals: gold in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4*100-meter medley, and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4*100-meter freestyle relay. Winning the 100-meter freestyle, she became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record.
- At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, she won five gold and bronze medals: gold in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4*100-meter freestyle relay, the 4*100-meter medley relay, the 4*100-meter mixed medley and the 4*100-meter mixed freestyle relay, and a bronze in the 50-meter freestyle.
- At the 2018 NCAA championships, Manuel announced that she would not continue her collegiate career after this year's NCAA championships and turned pro in July 2018.
- Manuel set a female record with seven medals, including a sweep of the 50- and 100-meter freestyles at the 2019 World Championships (Gwangju, South Korea)
Personal Life of Simone Manuel
Talking about Simone's marital status, she is not married neither is dating anyone. Currently, she is enjoying her singlehood and focusing on her career to winning golds and breaking records. Also, there is no news of her past affairs, relationships, and having boyfriends.
Simone Manuel Net Worth
Simone Manuel has an estimated net worth of $3 million. Her major source of wealth is her swimming career. She also earns from her sponsorship deals with some brands. Also, she has a signature swimwear collection, the TYR X SIMONE collection with TYR Sport. Along with Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, and Chloe Kim, Simone is a co-founder of "TOGETHXR", a media and commerce company designed to elevate women's voices around sports.
Simone Manuel Height & Weight
The swimmer, Simone Manuel has an athletic body build. She stands at a tall height of 1.78m (5 feet and 10 inches) which perfectly matches her body weight of 67kg (148 lbs.). By sexuality, she is straight. Her hair color is black and she has a pair of dark brown eyes. However, there is no information about her body measurements, bra size, shoe size, dress size, etc.
Gold Medals
- Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle
- Swimming at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay
- Swimming at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 100 metre freestyle
- Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay
- Swimming at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Mixed 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay
- Swimming at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 50 metre freestyle
