Simone Manuel Falters in the Olympic Swimming Race That Made Her

After failing to qualify for the 100-meter freestyle in Tokyo, she has one last chance to make the U.S. team. It’s a stunning setback for a star of the Rio Olympics who spoke of mental and physical fatigue.

OMAHA — Simone Manuel squinted at the scoreboard on Thursday night and did the simple math. She had finished fourth in the first of two semifinals of her signature event, the 100-meter freestyle, where she owns six of the seven fastest swims by an American woman. Scanning the results of the second semifinal while standing on the deck, she counted the times that were faster than hers. There were five, which left Manuel one spot shy of qualifying for the final from which the Olympic qualifiers will be selected for the individual event and the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. 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. Olympic trials will be her resigned look when her ninth-place finish became official.