AFP, Los Angeles :
Simone Manuel won the 100m freestyle at the Pro Swim Series in San Antonio Thursday, but the US Olympic champion admits she’s still feeling the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic as she pushes toward the rescheduled Tokyo Games.
“I don’t think there will ever be a sense of normalcy with something like this,” said Manuel, who shared Olympic gold in the 100m free with Canadian Penny Oleksiak in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“We’ve essentially been training for five years for the Olympic Games. That takes a lot of mental strength.”
Manuel, who won four medals in Rio and went on to win four golds and three silver medals at the 2019 World Championships, was on course to make a big splash in the Tokyo pool in 2020.
