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Simone Manuel makes 50 free final a day after historic victory

Sugar Land native had a long night after historic race

RIO DE JANEIRO - Simone Manuel spent most of her first day as an Olympic gold medalist trying to put that historic event behind her so should concentrate on a chance at another milestone.

Manuel, 20 of Sugar Land, didn't return to her Olympic Village room until 2:30 a.m. Friday after tying Penny Oleksiak of Canada for the 100-meter freestyle gold medal late Thursday night. She got a congratulatory hug from roommate Katie Ledecky, got a few hours of sleep and was back at the pool for her 11:18 a.m. Rio time heat in the 50-meter freestyle.

Manuel finished fourth in her heat but qualified for the Friday night semifinals with a time of 24.71 seconds. She finished fourth in her semifinal to qualify for Saturday's final in 24.44.

"It's been a tough one," she said. "I had to shift my mental focus after the excitement (Thursday). My body is tired and I didn't get much sleep, and just making it into the finals was a relief."

In between, she fielded congratulatory tweets from LeBron James and Serena Williams, recognizing her accomplishment as the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming medal at the Olympic Games. But she said she turned quickly to the next challenge.

"I sent a tweet taking it all in, but at the moment I sent it, I said, 'I need to get ready for the 50 free.' I don't want it to end with the 100 free. I have one race to go, and I hope to impact the USA Swimming team with a gold medal in the medley relay and then see what things bring in the 50 free."

Even though Manuel has tried to keep the focus on her achievements aside from her ethnicity, she says she embraces the chance to be an example to African-American children to take up swimming.

"I'm the kind of person who tries to stay the same and not really think about what other people think of me," she said. "But I'm glad I can be an inspiration to others."

Manuel is a junior at Stanford University and has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining, so it's not out of the question that she could try for another Olympic Games in 2020.

But her mother, Sharron Manuel, said the landmark win Thursday night will always be a significant part of her resume.

"She definitely recognizes the importance of it," Sharron Manuel said. "I think that is part of history and it is something that she is always going to be remembered for and something she always will have to deal with."

Simone Manuel said she talked with Anthony Ervin, who won the men's 50 free Friday night, during USA Swimming's pre-Olympics training camp in San Antonio about their desire to "dissolve some of the black swimmer media talk."