What a comeback: Manuel wins at trials, Adrian falls short

OMAHA, Neb. — When Simone Manuel whipped around to see the “1” beside her name, months of emotions came pouring out.

She closed her eyes, brought her hands together in prayer and struggled to hold back the tears.

Abbey Weitzeil, the woman she had just beaten, leaped over the lane rope with a huge smile — so happy for her friend she didn't mind settling for the runner-up spot Sunday.

Everyone in the stands leaped to their feet, saluting Manuel's perseverance with an ovation that rocked the CHI Health Center Omaha.

Days after revealing she was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, Manuel provided the most stirring moment of the entire U.S. Olympic swimming trials on its final night by winning the chaotic 50-meter freestyle.

“When I touched the wall, I was literally like, ‘Please, God, please!’” she said.

It was all or nothing for Manuel, whose Olympic hopes came down to one hectic dash from one end of the pool to the other.

She got there first, locking up a trip to Tokyo and the chance to make more history — five years after becoming the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event.

“More than anything, I’m relieved,” she said. “Today may have been the longest day of my life and the longest 50 of my life.”

While Manuel is heading back to the Olympics, Nathan Adrian's bid for a fourth appearance at the Summer Games came up just short when he finished third in the men's 50 free.

Caeleb Dressel tied his American record with another dominating performance, touching about a half-body length ahead of Michael Andrew in 21.04 seconds.

Get ready, Tokyo. Dressel will have three individual races at the Olympics, not to mention at least three relays.

Plenty of chances to live up the hype as America's next great men's swimming star after the retirement of Michael Phelps.

“This is brutal, the pressure. I like it,” Dressel said. “I'm happy we executed well and in a month, we get to go have some more fun.”

Andrew earned his third individual event at the Olympics by touching second in 21.48, while Adrian was next at 21.73.

Dressel hopped on the lane rope and splashed the water, and a gracious Adrian came over to congratulate the winner.

The 32-year-old Adrian beat testicular cancer and arrived here as a new father. He hoped to cap the tumultuous journey with a fourth Olympics, but the eight-time medalist failed to qualify for the final of the 100 free and wasn't fast enough in one lap, either.

That's OK.

He was eager to see his 4-month-old daughter, Parker.

“My heart kind of explodes just thinking about it,” Adrian said. “I'm so excited go hang out with her and hold her. I've got a lot to look forward to when I get home.”

Bobby Finke won the final event of the trials, romping to victory in the 1,500 freestyle in 14 minutes, 46.06 seconds. He was about a half-pool length ahead of runner-up Michael Brinegar, who touched in 15:00.87 and also is Tokyo-bound.

Finke doubled up his Olympic racing schedule after previously winning the 800 free, posting a career best and the fourth-fastest time in the world this year in the 1,500.

“That time means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to drop in that race for a couple of years now. I’m going to go to Tokyo and try to improve my time.”

But this night was about Manuel.

Her dreams seemingly were dashed when she failed to qualify for the final of the 100 free, the event she won at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

After that disappointing performance, she opened up about the struggles she's been going through. With her body aching, Manuel was diagnosed in March with the condition commonly known as burnout, forcing her to suspend training for three weeks.

The layoff came at the worst possible time, with the Olympic trials around the corner, and Manuel clearly was not at her best in her first event of the week.

As it turned out, opening up about her condition — and receiving support and encouragement from teammates, fans and people she's never met — seemed to be greatest salve.

“I definitely think sharing that information allowed me to swim more free,” Manuel said. “I have a lot of hard work in the bank."

It paid off when Manuel furiously covered the length of the pool in 24.29 to edge Weitzeil by .01 of a second.

Weitzeil already had had locked up her spot on the team with a victory in the 100 free, and the second-place showing ensured she'll also swim the 50 in Tokyo.

No one in the arena was pulling harder for Manuel than the woman swimming in the lane right next to her.

“I told her before we walked out, ‘We’re coming out together,'" Weitzeil said. “During the race, I saw her right there. I was like, ‘Yes! Let’s go! C'mon!' That's what I was thinking the whole time.”

Manuel can't wait to get to another Olympics. She won't get a chance to defend her groundbreaking title from Rio, but she's got no complaints after the past few months.

“Even though I didn’t make it in the 100, my goal was to make to the team,” he said. “I'll have to regroup and hopefully swim faster so I can win a medal for Team USA.

"I'm glad I can walk away with my head held high.”

USA swim team members

The United States swimming team for the Tokyo Olympics, with name, age, hometown and events:

WOMEN

Haley Anderson, 29, Granite Bay, Calif., 10-kilometer marathon

Phoebe Bacon, 18, Chevy Chase, Md., 200 backstroke

Erika Brown, 22, Charlotte, N.C., 100 freestyle

Claire Curzan, 16, Cary North Carolina, 100 butterfly

Catie DeLoof, 24, Grosse Point, Mich., 400 freestyle relay

Kate Douglass, 19, Pelham, N.Y., 200 individual medley

Hali Flickinger, 26, Spring Grove, Pa., 200 butterfly, 400 individual medley

Brooke Forde, 22, Louisville, Ky., 800 freestyle relay

Katie Grimes, 15, Las Vegas, 800 freestyle

Natalie Hinds, 27, Midland, Texas, 400 freestyle relay

Torri Huske, 18, Arlington, Va., 100 butterfly

Lydia Jacoby, 17, Seward, Alaska, 100 breaststroke

Lilly King, 24, Evansville, Ind., 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke

Annie Lazor, 26, Beverly Hills, Mich., 200 breaststroke

Katie Ledecky, 24, Bethesda, Md., 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle, 1,500 freestyle

Paige Madden, 22, Mobile, Ala., 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay

Simone Manuel, 24, Sugar Land, Texas, 50 freestyle

Katie McLaughlin, 23, Dana Point, Calif., 800 freestyle relay

Allison Schmitt, 31, Canton, Mich., 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay

Bella Sims, 16, Las Vegas, 800 freestyle relay

Regan Smith, 19, Lakeville, Minn., 100 backstroke, 200m butterfly

Olivia Smoliga, 26, Glenview, Ill., 400 freestyle relay

Erica Sullivan, 20, Las Vegas, 1,500 freestyle

Ashley Twichell, 32, Fayetteville, N.Y., 10k marathon

Alex Walsh, 19, Nashville, Tennessee, 200 individual medley

Abbey Weitzeil, 24, Santa Clarita, Calif., 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle

Emma Weyant, 19, Sarasota, Fla., 400 individual medley

Rhyan White, 21, Herriman , Utah, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke

MEN

Michael Andrew, 22, Encinitas, Calif., 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 individual medley

Zach Apple, 24, Trenton, Ohio, 100 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay

Hunter Armstrong, 20, Dover, Ohio, 100 backstroke

Bowe Becker, 23, Las Vegas, 400 freestyle relay

Gunnar Bentz, 25, Atlanta, 200 butterfly

Michael Brinegar, 21, Columbus, Ind., 800 freestyle, 1,500 freestyle

Patrick Callan, 21, Owasso, Okla., 800 freestyle relay

Brooks Curry, 20, Dunwoody, Ga., 400 freestyle relay

Caeleb Dressel, 24, Green Cove Spring, Fla., 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly

Nic Fink, 27, Morristown, N.J., 200 breaststroke

Bobby Finke, 21, Clearwater, Fla., 800 freestyle, 1,500 freestyle

Townley Haas, 24, Richmond, Va., 200 freestyle

Zach Harting, 23, Madison, Ala., 200 butterfly

Chase Kalisz, 27, Bel Air, Md., 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley

Drew Kibler, 21, Carmel, Ind., 800 freestyle relay

Jay Litherland, 25, Alpharetta, Ga., 400 individual medley

Bryce Mefford, 22, El Dorado Hills, Calif., 200 backstroke

Jake Mitchell, 19, Carmel, Ind., 400 freestyle

Ryan Murphy, 25, Jacksonville, Fla., 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke

Blake Pieroni, 25, Valparaiso, Ind., 400 freestyle relay

Andrew Seliskar, 24, McLean, Va., 800 freestyle relay

Tom Shields, 29, Huntington Beach, Calif., 100 butterfly

Kieran Smith, 21, Ridgefield, Conn., 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle

Jordan Wilimovsky, 27, Malibu, Calif., 10k marathon

Andrew Wilson, 27, Bethesda, Md., 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke

Women’s Head Coach: Greg Meehan

Men’s Head Coach: Dave Durden

Marathon Swimming Coach: Catherine Kase

Assistant Coaches: Peter Andrew, Jack Bauerle, Bob Bowman, Todd DeSorbo, Ray Looze, Teri McKeever, Anthony Nesty, Gregg Troy