{"id":18086,"date":"2020-11-27T19:38:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-28T01:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=18086"},"modified":"2020-11-27T19:43:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-28T01:43:12","slug":"simone-manuel-the-23-year-old-8-gold-medal-winner-sees-the-events-of-2020-as-an-opportunity-to-use-her-platform-to-further-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=18086","title":{"rendered":"Simone Manuel, The 23-year-old 8 gold medal winner sees the events of 2020 as an opportunity to use her platform to further conversations."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Olympic Swimmer Simone Manuel Is More Assertive\u2014and Prouder\u2014in 2020<\/h1>\n

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The 23-year-old gold medalist sees the events of 2020 as an opportunity to use her platform to further conversations about race and advocate for more diversity in swimming.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Convictions and frustrations have been there for years, percolating. Sometimes they went unspoken. Sometimes they were articulated in measured tones. There was no yelling, at least not in public.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2020, Simone Manuel is raising her voice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel in the past, I used my platform,\u201d she told Sports Illustrated<\/em>. \u201cBut not loudly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Always proud. Now, loud and proud.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manuel\u2019s increased volume has coincided with a particularly acute moment in America, and the result is a powerful alchemy. An articulate, 23-year-old gold medalist who will be one of the marquee faces in Tokyo next summer\u2014if there is an Olympics next summer\u2014has a multi-layered message she is shouting out on social media and elsewhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n

About being a Black superstar pushing for diversity and inclusion in the overwhelmingly white sport of swimming. About being Black in America in a year when George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed by white cops. About registering to vote, and then voting. About wearing a mask for the good of everyone. About so many things happening here and now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are conversations I\u2019ve had with my parents for years,\u201d Manuel said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a drive to want to speak out loudly. But I think it\u2019s more accepted to speak your truth now, without people saying, \u2018Uh, no-no, that can\u2019t be true, that couldn\u2019t have happened, that can\u2019t be racist.<\/em>\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are more accepting hearing about it. People have tried to understand more where I\u2019m coming from.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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More people are ready to have the conversation. And Manuel is more than ready to be a conversation starter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Really, this began for Manuel before the terrible events of the spring pushed the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of American discourse. Before the ensuing protests ricocheted around the country. Before there was a pandemic that rocked the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It began in January, with a conversation between Simone and her mom, Sharron. At issue: How outspoken is too outspoken? Or not outspoken enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the buildup toward Tokyo 2020, Manuel had become an increasingly attractive pitch woman for major corporations\u2014Toyota, Nike, Coca-Cola, TYR swimsuits and others have signed her up. A Black swimming star with a Stanford degree, a sharp mind, a winning smile, status as the foremost female freestyle sprinter in the world\u2014she was an advertising dream.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But corporate dollars can come with corporate handcuffs, and in the swimming world endorsement money is infamously elusive. Manuel had always advocated for a more diverse swimming community; could she now push the envelope further on other race-related issues without risk to her shiny public image?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just kind of going over what you want to do and where you want to be,\u201d Sharron said. \u201cI just said, \u2018Well, Simone, at some point you just have to tell your story.\u2019 All this arose from what was already simmering. Deep down inside, she always knew she was going to have to speak on these issues\u2014not politics, but humanity and equality. She wanted to be authentic and raw with the truth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

So Sharron\u2019s advice was simple: Say what comes to your heart, Simone. So she has. This is no bland athlete avoiding opinions to go along and get along.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There have been Instagram and Twitter posts that flash anger at persistent racism. There have been soul-searching posts that articulate disappointment and sadness, including a May 28 Instagram treatise that ends thusly:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe words \u2018freedom,\u2019 \u2018justice,\u2019 and \u2018equality\u2019 are uttered by many, BUT do we really experience it? No! We have yet to experience it collectively as a nation, and we won\u2019t until we all come together and fight for it \u2026 until we\u2019re \u2018all in this together.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf this makes you uncomfortable, check your privilege. Think of those who lack comfort EVERY SINGLE DAY.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reaction has been predominantly positive, from rank-and-file fans to corporate backers.\u00a0In fact, Manuel is one of four Olympic or Paralympic athletes featured in a new Procter & Gamble digital video series<\/a>, titled\u00a0The Measure of Greatness,\u00a0that champions their activism.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Critics? There have been a few. But this is what you sign up for by raising your voice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten a lot of [direct messages] of support,\u201d Manuel said. \u201cBut also DMs from people saying they don\u2019t care what I think. There are people who want you to shut up and swim.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t constantly be worried about who is mad at you,\u201d Sharron Manuel said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

America was overwhelmingly happy with Simone Manuel in 2016 when, as a 19-year-old Olympic rookie, she won four medals\u2014two gold\u2014and became the first Black swimmer to win an individual swimming gold. Her star was just ascending.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A year later at the World Championships in Budapest, Manuel won five gold medals and one silver, then skipped her final season at Stanford to turn pro. Last year in South Korea, Manuel became the first woman swimmer to win seven medals at the World Championships, collecting four gold and three silver.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But like the rest of the American contingent, it was an up-and-down meet for Manuel. The expectation was seven medals, with maybe a couple more of them gold. A disappointing relay performance was followed by a near-disaster in qualifying heats for the 100 freestyle, when she barely snuck into the final in Lane 1.<\/strong><\/p>\n