Simone Manuel

My first gold medal, at my first Olympics, is kind of a surprise to me. I never thought I would be in this position, but I'm so blessed and honored to be on the medal stand.

Swimming is a life-saving skill, so just the fact that the sport that I love can give so much back to other people - and inspire them to join something that they never thought they could do or go after their dreams - is something that is really special to me.