Swimming

Simone Manuel Continues Career Resurgence With Performances In Westmont

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By Yanyan Li on SwimSwam

2024 PRO SWIM SERIES – WESTMONT

One year ago, Simone Manuel was still getting back in shape after a year-long hiatus from swimming. Today, she’s putting up times that have her in contention to make her third consecutive Olympic team this summer.

At the Westmont Pro Series last weekend, Manuel clocked times of 53.35 in the 100 free, 24.49 in the 50 free, and 1:57.80 in the 200 free, with her 50 and 100 free times being season-bests. In addition, her 200 free performance was her first win in an official competition since the 2021 Olympic trials. This season, Manuel has been extremely consistent with her performances and improvement, which bodes well for an international comeback.

Simone Manuel, 2023-24 Season Progression:

U.S. Open (November 2023) Knoxville Pro Series (January 2024) Westmont Pro Series (March 2023)
50 free 24.82 24.82 24.49 (fastest since 2021)
100 free 53.65 53.73 53.35 (fastest since 2020)
200 free 1:57.37 1:58.87 1:57.80

Manuel’s time in the 100 free ranks her third amongst American women this season, and would have placed fifth at last year’s U.S. World Championship trials. Meanwhile, she’s ranked third in the 50 free and fourth in the 200 free.

In the lead-up to the 2021 Tokyo Olympic games, Manuel suffered from overtraining syndrome and failed to qualify for Tokyo in the 100 free, the event where she won the 2016 Olympic title. In addition, she also missed the Olympic final in the 50 free after taking silver in 2016. Following the Games, she went on a year-long hiatus from swimming before leaving her old training base at Stanford University to train with the pro group at Arizona State University.

Manuel did not compete at the 2023 U.S. World Championships but has been actively racing at formal competitions since the start of 2023.

SwimSwam: Simone Manuel Continues Career Resurgence With Performances In Westmont

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