Simone Manuel’s Mission: A Future Where Everyone Can Swim Safely

Boardroom chops it up with the Olympic swimmer about water safety, increasing representation in the pool, her TOGETHXR investment, LA28, and more.

Seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel has loved being in the pool for as long as she can remember. Even before starting formal swim lessons, her parents would take her brothers to the pool with her in tow. One could argue she was destined for aquatics because she would try to take off her floaties and fearlessly jump into the water repeatedly.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for most Black youths across America. Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that Black children ages 10-14 years old drown in swimming pools at rates over seven times higher than white youths. Furthermore, nearly 64% of Black children have little to no swimming ability, putting them at greater risk of drowning.

Manuel even remarked that oftentimes, she is the sole person of color among a pool of athletes, which is not a new phenomenon. Racial discrimination decades ago contributed to a lack of progress in the Black swimming community. Not only was there a refusal to build pools in neighborhoods primarily occupied by Black residents, but they were also barred from entering beaches and pools in white neighborhoods.

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May 15 is International Water Safety Day, and given her massive platform to not only increase awareness surrounding feeling comfortable in the water, but also encourage more individuals who look like her to learn the basics of swimming. Manuel spoke to Boardroom about why this cause is particularly important to her, her entrepreneurial endeavors as the co-founder of TOGETHXR, and in what capacity we will see her when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

VINCIANE NGOMSI: International Water Safety Day shines a light on the importance of swimming education. How has your personal journey and your connection with water shaped your advocacy for this particular campaign?

SIMONE MANUEL: My personal journey of being one of the few Black swimmers around pools at competition, especially once I got to the international stage, actually began as a youth summer league swimmer with my two older brothers and me on the team. Out of the few hundred, there were probably only 10 Black swimmers. At five years old, you look around and realize there are only one or two of you. And I think as I continued to improve in the sport of swimming, the numbers became less and less at the competitive level. That experience as a young swimmer, but also as a competitive swimmer, definitely influenced my passion to bring more accessibility and importance of water safety to my community, especially once I learned about the drowning rates of Black children and as well as my only experience of feeling othered in the space. I wanted to hopefully bring more access to swimming to my community and make people feel more welcome.

VN: There’s a stereotype that Black people don’t know how to swim. How has your success motivated more minorities to be comfortable in the water?

SM: I think it’s tough because my parents knew how to swim, so it was kind of natural for them to put me in swim lessons. Sometimes it’s the reverse. If your parent doesn’t know how to swim, they’re not going to put you in swim lessons, and it just continues this perpetual cycle of Black children — or children in general — not knowing how to swim, and swimming is a life-saving skill. There’s no other sport in the world that can necessarily have the possibility of saving your life, but learning how to swim can. It’s not about the possibility of becoming an Olympic medalist or a world champion. It’s about the ability to be safer around bodies of water, go to a pool party, and get in and feel safe knowing you can swim. … I feel like historically and systemically, a lot of these injustices have come from racism and discrimination, which is still prevalent to this day.

VN: As a co-founder of TOGETHXR, how do you see the company evolving in the next few years, especially when it comes to the momentum around women’s sports in your discipline?

SM: I think more importantly, continued growth, continued support, and us expanding our reach. I know we spend a lot of time focusing on certain sports, so the ability to be able to expand our reach across the board so that all women’s sports are kind of covered in an equitable way as possible is definitely one of the biggest goals of TOGETHXR because we want to celebrate women in sports to the best of our ability as widespread as we can.

"The goal is to make it four."@swimone is grateful to be a three-time Olympian and pushing for a fourth with @TeamUSA 👏 pic.twitter.com/Tm629x6m01
— We Need To Talk (@WeNeedToTalk) March 13, 2025

VN: You’ve had chances to hear amazing women and athletes share their stories over the last several years, but is there anyone in particular who has made you reaffirm the reason why you, Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, and Chloe Kim all co-founded the company?

SM: I wouldn’t necessarily say someone in particular. I think what’s really special is, I train at the University of Texas. I was going to the weight room, and this coach or a faculty member was leaving the elevator, and he had on our ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ shirts. I’ve also seen it at the airport. It’s really cool to see your brand out in the wild like that. Of course, if I went to a basketball or a volleyball game, I might see it. But to be in the airport or to just go about my normal day and see someone wearing it, I think it’s really special because that just shows we have so much support. We have so many people who believe in our mission and our brand, and I feel like it’s not just about TOGETHXR, but about what we stand for. And when you support TOGETHXR, I feel like that’s a representative of you supporting women, you supporting women in sport, and you supporting the stories that we’re sharing to empower people.

VN: As women athletes, it is often tough to have control over your own storytelling. As your career has ascended, how have you managed to control the narrative around your image as an athlete and entrepreneur?

SM: It’s tough. There have still been moments where sometimes an interview comes out and you’re like, ‘I didn’t say it like that.’ But I think what’s most important is really saying what’s on my mind and being authentically myself. I think when I don’t sugarcoat things or I am really honest with my feelings or experiences, that allows the possibility of things to really come out in my voice. There’s no room for me to be vague anymore; what you see is what you get, and hopefully, people can do right by the message that I’m sharing with them.

VN: With the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2028, there will be a lot of people looking to cover it, especially swimming as it pertains to Team USA. How do you see your role as someone representing Team USA outside the pool?

SM: Of course, the end goal for me is to win more Olympic medals. I would love to win another individual gold medal. I don’t know what’s in the cards for me, but I’m working toward being the best Simone that I possibly can be. That means using my privilege and experience as a Black professional swimmer to empower young Back children to get into the sport and possibly learn how to swim and save their lives. I think the gold, silver, bronze, all those medals and records are great. But what has become so fulfilling for me at this point in my career is the impact that I can make outside of it. And like I said, it’d be great to go to LA. It’d be great to win medals and possibly have a diverse slew of people in the stands see me in person compete as one of the few Black swimmers, that’s probably going to be there, unfortunately. But if that’s not in the cards for me, I’m still going to grind and continue to try and make an impact in my community and beyond.