Swimming World Presents “Simone Manuel: Making a Difference”

Swimming World November 2019 Simone Manuel - Making a Difference

Simone Manuel: Making a Difference

By David Rieder

Through a constant drive for bettering herself, Simone Manuel has crafted a career for which she may eventually be remembered as the greatest American sprinter ever. But she has forever changed the sport, her impact reaching far beyond any medal she has won.

Because of her platform on the sport’s biggest stage, Manuel has opened up swimming to the African-American community on a level never before seen in the United States. Manuel cannot forget the many instances of parents approaching her to say that their son or daughter wanted to join swim lessons because they watched Manuel in the Olympics, and there were even instances of older people joining swim lessons because she had inspired them.

“I think it’s really cool that me swimming up the pool just a couple of times on TV can inspire people to get in the pool and learn how to swim or dream about things that they never thought they possibly could achieve,” she said.

Manuel grew up in a world where African-American swimmers were the exception, and above all else, that’s the change she wants to see in swimming.

“When I was 12 years old, I came home from swim practice, and I asked my mom why there weren’t many people that looked like me in the sport of swimming,” Manuel said. “We did some research, and we looked up African-American swimmers. Obviously, I knew of Cullen Jones and Maritza Correia, but I learned about Sabir Muhammad and Tanica Jamison and so many others who didn’t quite get the recognition that they deserved in the sport.”

To read more about Simone Manuel’s impact and her attitude toward Tokyo 2020,
check out the November issue of Swimming World, available now!

SW November 2019 Florian Wellbrock Cover 800x1070

[PHOTO CREDIT: BECCA WYANT]

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FEATURES

016 2019 OPEN WATER SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
by David Rieder and Dan D’Addona
Female: Ana Marcela Cunha, Brazil
Male: Florian Wellbrock, Germany

018 OPEN WATER HIGHLIGHTS OF 2019
by Dan D’Addona
The open water competition at the FINA Aquatics Championships commanded the sport’s spotlight for 2019. But many more open water highlights took place this past year—from Hawaii to Florida to Europe and East Asia. Here are Swimming World’s top five.

020 DOPING FOR GOLD
by Craig Lord
The fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago in November 1989 opened the door that would eventually reveal East Germany’s systematic doping of an estimated 10,000 athletes over more than two decades.

023 MAKING A DIFFERENCE
by David Rieder
Through a constant drive for bettering herself, Simone Manuel has crafted a career for which she may eventually be remembered as the greatest American sprinter ever. But she has forever changed the sport, her impact reaching far beyond any medal she has won.

026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: THE SYDNEY 6
by John Lohn
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, six American male teenagers broke through during their first Olympic foray and remained major players in the sport in the years ahead. The scenario that unfolded for Michael Phelps, Anthony Ervin, Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Klete Keller and Erik Vendt could very well remain unmatched.

030 ISHOF: SWIMMER RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF BRITISH MILITARY’S GREATEST HEROES
by Bruce Wigo
Bernard Freyberg, a New Zealander who distinguished himself both in swimming and in war, used his expertise in swimming to perform one of the most heroic acts of World War I.

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: DICK KIMBALL
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS TO IMPROVING TECHNIQUE
by Rod Havriluk
There are many barriers that make it difficult for any swimmer to improve technique. Fortunately, there are also very effective strategies to deal with these barriers. The first step is for the swimmer to stay mentally engaged for the duration of every training session.

038 SETON SWIMMING’S SAMPLE FOR SUCCESS
by Michael J. Stott
Jim Koehr, head coach of the Seton School swimming team in Manassas, Va., has devised an ideal model for a winning high school program.

041 Q&A WITH COACH SCOTT ARMSTRONG
by Michael J. Stott

043 HOW THEY TRAIN NOAH CORBITT
by Michael J. Stott

JUNIOR SWIMMER

045 UP & COMERS: McKENNA STONE
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

013 THE OFFICIAL WORD

032 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

046 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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