It is a proud moment for the African-American community because Thursday night Simone Manuel made history by winning her first gold medal in individual swimming. Reading this news, of course you would want to know about Simone Manuel’s biography and Simone Manuel’s parents!
This 20-year-old U.S. swimming champion has already taken the Olympics by storm. This is the first time in the history of the Olympics that an African-American woman has won a gold medal and we could not be more proud of her! It was an emotional moment for Simone, who was in tears after winning the competition and setting a new Olympic record.
Simone won the women’s 100m freestyle and it is one of the events that the U.S.A has not won since the year 1984. Here are all the details you should know about Simone Manuel.
Get to Know Simone Manuel
Personal Life
She was born as Simone Ashley Manuel on August 2, 1996 in Houston, Texas, United States. Simone Manuel’s parents are Marc Manuel and Sharron Manuel. For all those who are wondering how old is Simone Manuel? Then to answer your question, the swimming champion is only 20-years-old. Simone is from Sugar Land Texas and spent much of her preparation swimming at her local club with the First Colony Swim Team. Simone has two older brothers and she started swimming at the age of five because she was inspired by them.
Simone Manuel College
Simone graduated from Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas in 2014. She joined her first swim team at the age of eleven. Head coach, Alison Beebe, was her trainer throughout her early swimming career. In the year 2014, she accepted admission to Stanford University and is currently a part of the Stanford Cardinal women’s swimming team.
Wants to Major in Communications
Simone is attending Stanford University and she will be a sophomore this fall. She wants to major in communications. In one of her interviews about balancing her studies as well as her swimming practice, she said, “As far as classes, I communicate with my teachers early, and I study the syllabus. The syllabus always keeps me on track. With socializing, I have an easy time keeping up with my friends (especially my dorm friends). We eat lunch and dinner together and sometimes do our homework in the lounge. I always find time for naps, so that allows me to stay balanced and take care of all my priorities,”
Olympic History
If you by any chance live under a rock or may have missed the chance to watch Olympics last night, then let us tell you that she is the first African-American woman to win a gold medal for the U.S. in swimming in the history of the Olympics. She was definitely teary-eyed after her win, and after the event she said, “It’s been a long journey for me. I definitely worked hard these past four years, day in and day out. Just to see it pay off when I really needed it is something I’m really grateful for. I have to attribute that to my coaches and my teammates who have pushed me to never give up.” Although she touched the wall at the same exact second Penny Oleksiak did, that does not make her less of a hero.
Loves Swimming
Simone claims that her parents sent her for swimming classes to be water safe, and that they had put no pressure on her to make swimming a career. However, she enjoyed the sport so much that she put her efforts into becoming a swimming champion.
For information on another amazing U.S. swim team performer and her outstanding performance at Rio, check out our piece on Hali Flickinger!
Sources:
http://goo.gl/MBicCu
http://goo.gl/gdFXvi
