Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Simone Manuel attended the 21st Annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day – official kick off to the US Open in Flushing Meadow, Queens.
Q: You’re so young and coming back with four medals, what’s next on the agenda for you?
SM: Right now I’m just doing media obligations, taking everything as it comes and then I’ll be heading back to school to swim for Stanford and I’ll also join some classes.
Q: For those who don’t know, what are you actually majoring in?
SM: I am majoring in communication and media.
Q: Is there any ideas of you actually hosting another Olympics somewhere down the line?
SM: I don’t know if I’ll do broadcasting, but I think the times that I’m in the Olympics will be when I’m competing.
Q: Are you competing in the next Olympics? Have you made the decision yet?
SM: Yes, that is the plan… to be in Tokyo in 2020.
Q: What’s on your iPod? When you guys have a downtime before you do your heats, what are you listening to?
SM: I’m listening to gospel music. Most of the times I don’t listen to music before my races, but for some reason at this Olympics I did and I was listening to gospel.
Q: Can you reflect on the whole experience? Obviously you came out as a big winner, but can you give me a little reflection on how everything went?
SM: *laughs* I haven’t had time to sit back and think about it. The whole experience is a whirlwind. You kind of just take everything as it comes and go with the flow. I had a lot of fun overall and I enjoyed the time with my teammates and representing my country. Also just cheering on my teammates and having fun with all the people that were there.
Q: Who are your favorite tennis players?
SM: Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal!
Q: You said Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal are your favorite tennis players, so did you get any opportunity to meet up with any of the athletes and just hang around with them?
SM: I did meet Serena and Allyson Felix and that was pretty much it. Swimming is kind of its own bubble and even though we were with the rest of team USA in the village, most of the time everyone is doing their own thing and getting ready for their competition so you don’t really want to distract them, but I did meet Serena and Allyson Felix.