Simone Manuel channels her winning team and touches first in 50 free to win individual Olympic race – Orange County Register

By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP National Writer)

INDIANAPOLIS — Simone Manuel was feeling a little down as she prepared for her last chance to swim an individual event at the Paris Olympics.

So she released a video of her greatest hits.

You talk about a boost in confidence.

The first black swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics, Manuel earned an individual berth on the final night of the U.S. swimming trials with a victory in the 50-meter freestyle on Sunday.

Coming back from overtraining syndrome that hampered his preparation for the Tokyo Games, Manuel won the frenetic race from one end of the pool to the other in 24.13 seconds.

She looked a little surprised when she saw the ‘1’ next to her name on the bulletin board, raising her fist emphatically. She kept shaking her head as she crossed the bridge.

“I didn’t really feel confident after last night,” said Manuel, who was only fourth fastest in semifinal qualifying, almost half a second behind Gretchen Walsh. “I spent a lot of time watching the races where I won. I wanted to channel this Simone because I know I’m a winner.

Speaking of winners, Bobby Finke is heading to the Olympics to defend his titles in the two longest freestyle events.

He won the final event of the trials, stunning the field in the 1,500 freestyle with a time of 14 minutes, 40.28 seconds. He had already qualified in the 800 freestyle, the other event he won in Tokyo.

The real race was for the final spot on the Olympic team between David Johnston and Luke Whitlock. They were neck and neck for most of the race, before Johnston began to pull away with six laps remaining.

Whitlock nearly caught him with a stunning final sprint, but Johnston barely held on to clinch his first trip to the Olympics in 14:52.74. Whitlock touched just behind him at 14:53.00.

Whitlock will still be in Paris, after earning a spot in the 800 freestyle.

“This meet didn’t go the way I planned,” said Johnston, who missed his other events with a third place finish in the 400 freestyle and a fourth place finish in the 800 freestyle. “It took everything I had to reach that wall. My legs at 300 yards were completely gone. I’m glad I somehow saved my encounter.

Manuel had already earned a spot at her third Olympics in the 4×100 freestyle relay, but now she has an event all to herself. Walsh took second place in Paris with a time of 24.15, ahead of Abbey Weitzeil (24.26) and Torri Huske (24.33).

Manuel will look to add to an already impressive track record, highlighted by her starring role at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, when she won two gold and two silver medals.

Manuel’s time began to slip ahead of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games. After failing to qualify in the 100 freestyle, she revealed she had been diagnosed with overtraining syndrome.

Manuel bounced back to earn a spot in the 50 freestyle, but she did not qualify for the final at the Olympics. His only medal was a bronze in the 4×100 freestyle relay.

After the games, Manuel was ordered by his doctor to stop all physical activity until his body healed. She finally returned to the pool in early 2023, but did not attempt to qualify for the world championships last summer.

But her move to Arizona, where she trained under Michael Phelps’ longtime coach Bob Bowman, began to pay off.

Now she has another Olympic race to show for it after falling short in the 100 freestyle with a fourth place finish.

“It means a lot,” Manuel said. “This competition wasn’t exactly what I wanted or what I worked hard for. It’s been a roller coaster. I’m grateful to be back on the team, and that’s how I felt after the 100 free, but also disappointed in the swim. I really wanted to try to refocus for the 50, get back into the team in individual swimming.”

When she made the team in the 50 freestyle three years ago, it felt like the longest round of her life.

She felt the same feeling again Sunday, her arms flailing and legs kicking during swimming’s most eventful event.

“I really wanted it. I really wanted to swim an individual event,” Manuel said. “It’s not that I was shocked that I could win because I know the work I’ve done and the rider that I am. It’s more excitement. I’m glad it happened today, that I was the No. 1 to hit the wall.

Johnston felt the same way after his first two Trials events produced crushing disappointments.

He turned to a football analogy for motivation, which seemed fitting with the tryouts taking place in the cavernous home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

“I’m just going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got and kind of throw a Hail Mary,” Johnston said to himself. “I went out there and said Hail Mary and got to the wall second.”

Finke will head into the Olympics with much higher expectations than in 2021, when he won the 800-1,500 double in stunning fashion.

Now he’s the one with the target on his back.

But he’ll worry about that another day. About halfway through his 1,500m victory, he started thinking about everything he wanted after the race.

“I think next week I can eat junk food,” Finke said, smiling. “I’m really looking forward to eating pizza and burgers, just eating treats.”