TYR Pro Swim Series – Knoxville
Simone Manuel will make her return to elite swimming next week, according to recently released psych sheets for the Pro Swim Series stop in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Leading up to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Manuel was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, a condition in which the training one is doing outpaces their body’s ability to recover. She dealt with depression, anxiety, and insomnia that spring before taking a break from competition last year. The 26-year-old American skipped last June’s World Championships after winning a female-record seven medals at the meet in 2019. It was her first time missing a major international meet since the London 2012 Olympics.
Not only will next week’s Pro Swim Series stop be Manuel’s first high-level meet since the Tokyo Olympics, but it will also represent her first race with stakes since moving to Arizona State to train with Bob Bowman’s all-star group of pros last August.
The 26-year-old Manuel is joined by 22-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak, who is making a return of her own following meniscus surgery in late August. In an Instagram post, Oleksiak wrote that her recovery would probably “be the longest and most tentative one I’ve ever had to deal with.”
Manuel and Oleksiak will forever be linked in Olympic lore after tying for the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the Rio 2016 Games. At last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, Oleksiak added three more medals to her collection, becoming the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all time with seven total.
In Tokyo, Manuel brought home bronze in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, upping her career tally to five Olympic medals. She also currently holds the World Record in the women’s LCM 4×100 medley relay, where she blazed a blistering 51.86 anchor split.
Fellow Olympic champions Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Chase Kalisz, and Ryan Murphy also appear on the entry lists for next week’s Pro Swim Series stop in Knoxville. Peacock is slated to air the finals live next Thursday and Friday starting at 6 p.m. EST.
Last year’s Pro Swim Series stop in Knoxville was canceled due to COVID-19.
This year’s opening stop in Knoxville is the first of four on the Pro Swim Series. The tour wraps up with meets in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Westmont, Illinois, and Mission Viejo, California.
