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Simone Manuel overcame overtraining, fatigue, depression and uncertainty to qualify for the 50m freestyle swimming event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the US Olympic Team Trials in Omaha last month.
Although she missed out on qualifying for the 100m freestyle event, Simone Manuel never stopped dreaming about participating in her second Olympic Games in Tokyo.
US Swimming at Tokyo Olympics 2020: When and where to watch, schedule & timings (Pacific Time)
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Simone Manuel won the gold medal in 100m freestyle and 4x100m medley. She won the silver medal in the 50m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay.
How to watch Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the USA? TV and LIVE streaming details
Simone Manuel's impact transcends beyond the pool.
Along with US soccer star and world champion Alex Morgan, US basketball icon and four-time Olympic gold medalist, Sue Bird, and Olympic gold medalist snowboarding champion, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel co-founded TOGETHXR, a media and commerce company founded to empower women.
Tokyo Olympics 2020: When and where to watch in US, TV and live streaming details
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Simone Manuel said:
"My two biggest role models [growing up] were Venus and Serena Williams. Being a young Black girl in the sport of swimming, I didn't always have examples of Black swimmers, and seeing Venus and Serena dominate in the sport of tennis, where they were a minority and also had to deal with racism, [witnessing that] was something that inspired me to pursue my dreams in the sport of swimming and work to be my very best."
Simone Manuel, in an Instagram post after the US Olympic Trials, penned down her feelings and emotions following her Tokyo Olympics qualification.
As a cultural icon, Simone has always been expected to share her views and opinions about diversity. In an interview with Nancy Armour of Changing The Game, Simone said:
"I don't ever feel annoyed about answering the question because I do think that it is important to talk about. I think what becomes exhausting is being the only one, where I feel like questions generally are geared to me to answer... When I'm in a press conference and I'm asked, 'Simone, you champion diversity, inclusion and equality. Why is that important?' I genuinely believe that every other swimmer that is next to me whether they're white, Black, Asian, they need to answer that question."
Simone Manuel added: "Shouldn't diversity, equality and inclusion be important to all of us? It can't just be important to black people. That's what gets exhausting to me, because I feel like the questions that I'm asked to answer, I feel like everyone should be educated on how to answer them."
Simone Manuel's early swimming days
When Simone Manuel was four-years-old, she asked her mother to sign her up at the Houston Swim Club, where her older brothers Christopher and Ryan joined. On the second day at the swim club, Simone Manuel had started swimming the whole length of the pool.
In an interview with Fort Bend Focus, Simone's mother Sharon narrates the details of her daughter's love for swimming at an early age.
"Simone would get up every day and get herself ready. She was so happy to go to swim practice."
Sharon stated that Simone was always willing to work hard to achieve the goals. "Simone never complained. She hated to miss swim practice even when she was sore or tired. She never said she didn't want to go to practice. At an early age, Simone would set a goal and was willing to work hard to reach her goal and have that delayed gratification."
Simone Manuel's events at the Tokyo Olympics 2020
30 July 2021 (night session at Tokyo Aquatics Centre)
Women's 50m Freestyle Heats
Start Time: 7:24pm local time | 6:24am Eastern Time | 3:24am Pacific Time
31 July 2021 (morning session at Tokyo Aquatics Centre)
Women's 50m Freestyle Semifinals
Start Time: 11:32am local time | 10:32pm Eastern Time (previous day) | 7:32pm Pacific Time (previous day)
1 August 2021 (morning session at Tokyo Aquatics Centre)
Women's 50m Freestyle Gold Medal event - Finals
Start Time: 10:37am local time | 9:37pm Eastern Time (previous day) | 6:37pm Pacific Time (previous day)
Simone Manuel at the Tokyo Olympics 2020: How and where to watch
LIVE Streaming: The matches can be watched live on NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports and the Peacock app.
TV: NBC and NBCSN channels (in US)
Also Checkout: Tokyo Olympic Swimming Schedule
