PARIS, France — Sugar Land's Simone Manuel has another Olympic medal to add to her collection.
She and American teammates Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske rallied to take silver Saturday in the 4x100 freestyle relay, edging China by a tenth of a second. The Australians cruised to their fourth straight gold medal with a blowout win.
Editor's note: The video above originally aired in June 2024.
Manuel made history in Rio eight years ago when she became the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal in an individual swimming event when she tied with Canada's Penny Oleksiak. She went on to win another gold and two silvers at the Rio Games, a breakout performance for swimmers of color in a sport dominated by White athletes.
In 2020, it was a different story for Manuel in the pandemic-delayed Toyko Games where her body broke down under the strain of overtraining syndrome. She was eliminated in the semifinals of her only individual event, the 50 freestyle. Her only medal came as the anchor of the 4x100 free relay team that finished third.
After the Olympics, Manuel was ordered by her doctor to shut down all physical activity for more than six months to give her body time to recover properly.
“It's probably the most boring months of my life,” she said. “I spent a lot of time talking about my feelings, what happened, processing what happened, because I think when you’re in it, you’re kind of in survival mode. I really needed to process it and come to terms with everything.”
Now 28, she entered the U.S. Olympic trials last month fiercely determined to earn a spot in Paris.
“I've always been a person who likes to dream big, who has very aggressive goals,” Manuel said. “It would be unfair of me to lower my standards. but at the same time, I do have to give myself grace because this journey is like no other that I’ve ever had in this sport."
When she made her third Olympics team, an emotional Manuel called it a miracle.
“It means everything to me,” she said, breaking down in tears. “It’s a miracle that I’m even able to stand up here and be able to race again. The people close to me know the journey it took to get here. I'm really proud of myself and proud of Team USA."
Manuel will also compete in the 50-meter freestyle.