Swimming star Simone Manuel reveals harsh realities of overtraining syndrome
In a new documentary the American Olympic gold medallist reveals the depth of her struggles with overtraining, and the pressures of being a Black athlete ahead of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Swimming
In March 2021, Simone Manuel was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome.
Simply put, the American swimming star and reigning 100m freestyle Olympic champion from Rio 2016, wasn’t giving her body enough time to recover from training.
But until the medical diagnosis, Manuel's health concerns - including irritability, extreme fatigue after ‘easy’ workouts, and a loss of appetite - had fallen on deaf ears, including those of her own coach.
“People didn’t believe that I actually was overtrained,” Manuel said in a new documentary produced by TOGETHXR, a media company founded by Manuel, and fellow USA Olympic gold medallists Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, and Chloe Kim.
“People said that I was distracted by all my other sponsor obligations, and that’s why I didn’t perform well. That I became lazy and my success went to my head.
“It’s really hard to be vulnerable in that space because it’s so easy for people to say they don’t believe me. I don’t get the empathy or understanding that I deserve.”
Manuel was prescribed a three-week break from the pool, which could not have at a worse time with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics just months away.
Simone Manuel: The pressure of being a Black athlete
The condition, coupled with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure of being a leading Black athlete, meant that Manuel was also suffering with anxiety and insomnia.
“I was then being asked to speak on these panels: ‘How can we support our Black community?’ ‘How can we diversify the sport of swimming?’” she continued.
“Being an athlete who was trying to focus on the Olympics, it was my job to work and continue to train. But also then be asked to continue to put my emotions on the line for other people to somehow be entertained by it. It was just a really tough time for me. Because I was training so hard and never took a break, I think my body just ended up crashing.”
The sprinter went public with her diagnosis at the USA Olympic Trials, and despite not qualifying in her favoured 100m freestyle, she mustered enough strength to book her place in the 50m free.
Later at the Olympics, an experience Manuel describes as ‘not fun at all’, she managed to qualify for the 50m free semi-finals in 11th position, but wasn’t able to make the final.
Despite this, Team USA coach Greg Meehan decided to pick her for the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay final over some of the specialist relay swimmers that competed in the prelims.
The move paid off as the Texan produced a superb anchor leg which helped land the bronze medal.
Following the Games, Manuel decided to take a break from elite competition in order to rest and recharge.
During that time, she relocated from Stanford to join Bob Bowman’s star-studded training group at the University of Arizona.
Manuel eventually returned to competition at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January 2023, placing third in the 50m free.
Blocking out the noise ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics
It's a fresh, new start for Manuel, ahead of what will be another busy period of swimming.
The top two finishers at nationals at the end of June will qualify to swim for the USA at July’s World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, before attention switches twoards qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Going into the next chapter of swimming would be trying to block out all the noise,” Manuel continued.
“I just want to swim with no pressure or expectations from anybody, even myself. Which I don’t know what that looks like, but I think that’s what’s next for me and that’s definitely going to be the focus: falling back in love with this sport and just being happy doing it.
“And then get back to competing on the highest level and hopefully winning some more medals.”