OMAHA — Simone Manuel squinted at the scoreboard on Thursday night and did the simple math.
Scanning the results of the second semifinal while standing on the deck, she counted the times that were faster than hers.
If one of the indelible images from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was Manuel’s shocked expression upon realizing she had tied for first in the 100-meter freestyle to become the first Black female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold, one of the lasting images of this U.S.
She now has one more shot at qualifying for the team, in the 50-meter freestyle, with the preliminary races Saturday.
After the 100-meter race Thursday, Manuel, 24, spoke about being diagnosed in March with overtraining syndrome.
After curtailing her training for two weeks without any significant improvement, she took three weeks completely off from swimming, returning to the water in mid-April.
Manuel’s time of 54 minutes 17 seconds was .02-second slower than the eighth-place time posted by Erika Brown, who finished fifth in the second semifinal.
Meeting with reporters roughly an hour after her race, Manuel spent 25 minutes surfing a wave of emotions: tearful, resigned, resolute.
“The last year for the Black community has been brutal, and I can’t say that wasn’t something that I saw.
Manuel acknowledged that she is a perfectionist and can be hard on herself, often finding fault with even her greatest feats.
“I’m someone where I accomplish something, I’m always looking forward to the next thing,” Manuel said.
Five days earlier, Manuel had taken part in a news conference with her Stanford teammate Katie Ledecky and their coach Greg Meehan.
Manuel said she refrained from expanding on her struggles at the time because she was focusing on a positive outcome.