Simone Ashley Manuel is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle events. She is originally from Sugar Land, Texas, and graduated from the Fort Bend Austin High School in 2014. Before graduating high school, she had already set a new American record in the 100-yard freestyle. She has achieved multiple NCAA All-American titles and claims victory as a champion for the Stanford Cardinals.
Simone Manuel’s Olympic Medals Wins
| Event Name | Medals | Year |
| 100 m freestyle | Gold | 2016 |
| 4×100 m medley | Gold | 2016 |
| 50 m freestyle | Silver | 2016 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Silver | 2016 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Bronze | 2020 |
Simone Manuel's Medals Breakdown
World Championships (LC)
Simone Manuel made her first mark at the 2013 Barcelona World Championships by securing a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle. At the 2015 Kazan World Championships, She again earned a gold and bronze medal in the 4×100 m mixed freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle respectively. In 2017 after qualifying for the World Championship in Budapest, Manuel clinched a gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle and set a new American record. She added another gold in the mixed 4×100-meter medley relay breaking the world record. She also secured a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle in the American record time and the mixed 4×100-meter freestyle. She concluded by winning a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter medley. At the 2019 Gwangju World Championship, Manuel achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first American woman to win both the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events at a single World Championships. She set a record for winning seven medals, four gold and three silver. This victory earned her the 2019 USA Swimming "Female Athlete of the Year" award.
| Event Name | Medals | Year |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Gold | 2013 |
| 4×100 m mixed freestyle | Gold | 2015 |
| 100 m freestyle | Gold | 2017 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Gold | 2017 |
| 4×100 m medley | Gold | 2017 |
| 4×100 m mixed freestyle | Gold | 2017 |
| 4×100 m mixed medley | Gold | 2017 |
| 50 m freestyle | Gold | 2019 |
| 100 m freestyle | Gold | 2019 |
| 4×100 m medley | Gold | 2019 |
| 4×100 m mixed freestyle | Gold | 2019 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Silver | 2019 |
| 4×200 m freestyle | Silver | 2019 |
| 4×100 m mixed medley | Silver | 2019 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Bronze | 2015 |
| 50 m freestyle | Bronze | 2017 |
Pan Pacific Championships
Simone Manuel competed in the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, where she won two silver medals in the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100 medley respectively, and a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle. She was placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle.
| Event Name | Medals | Year |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Silver | 2014 |
| 4×100 m medley | Silver | 2014 |
| 50 m freestyle | Silver | 2018 |
| 100 m freestyle | Silver | 2018 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Silver | 2018 |
| 4×100 m medley | Silver | 2018 |
| 100 m freestyle | Bronze | 2014 |
| 4×100 m mixed medley | Bronze | 2018 |
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
At the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships that was held at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Honolulu, she secured four gold medals. She won her first gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 54.80 seconds. Her second gold medal was in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, where she set a Championships record of 54.60 on the first leg of the relay. Third, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and lastly in the 4×100 m medley. She was placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.45 seconds and won the B-final of the 200-meter freestyle with a 2:00.32.
| Event Name | Medals | Year |
| 100 m freestyle | Gold | 2012 |
| 4×100 m freestyle | Gold | 2012 |
| 4×200 m freestyle | Gold | 2012 |
| 4×100 m medley | Gold | 2012 |
Simone Manuel's Olympic Appearances
Simone Manuel has appeared two times in the Olympic games. First time in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics and then in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Summer.
Simone Manuel's Record & Achievements
Simone made Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Sports in 2022.
Simone holds the Honda Sports Award and the Honda Cup for 2017-2018.
Simone holds the 2019 Golden Goggle Award for Female Athlete of the Year.
Simone holds the 2019 SwimSwam Swammy Award for US Swimmer of the Year.
Simone received the Golden Goggle Awards for Female Race of the Year in 2016
Simone earned Relay Performance of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
SwimSwam ranked Simone #5 in their Top 100 Women list in 2021.
Simone Manuel’s Olympic Journey
At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, Simone Manuel secured second place in both the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and seventh in the 200-meter freestyle. These victories qualified her for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics Games, Manuel won a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay alongside Abbey Weitzeil, Dana Vollmer, and Katie Ledecky. She then secured a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle tying with Canada's Penny Oleksiak. This victory set an Olympic record of 52.70 seconds. Manuel was the first African-American woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming. She also won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and another gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
During the 2020 USA Swimming Olympics Trials which was postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manuel finished 9th in the 100-meter freestyle semifinals. But still, she won in the 50-meter freestyle securing her spot for the Tokyo Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, She secured a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
FAQ's On Simone Manuel’s Olympic Medals
A. Simone Manuel is married to Denzel Franklin.
A. Simone Manuel is originally from Sugar Land, Texas, United States.
A. Marc Manuel and Sharron Manuel are the parents of Simone Manuel.
