Original View XXXI OLYMPIC RI016 SUMMER GAMES Olympic-sized reception greets Manuel at airport Fresh from capturing four medals in Rio, swimmer’s return home draws celebratory crowd BY EMILY FOXHALL Picture Melissa Phillip photos / Houston Chronicle Olympic gold medalist Simone Manuel at George Bush Intercontinental Airport is greeted Wednesday by members of the Fort Bend Austin High School drum line and dance team. Picture Manuel displays a wooden box containing one of her two gold medals. The Sugar Land swimmer also won apair of silvers. Picture Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle Simone Manuel, center, shown with her parents, Sharron Manuel and Marc Manuel, right, savors the warm welcome at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. A beaming Simone Manuel waved as she walked through the sliding doors into the international arrivals hall early Wednesday morning at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. A crowd had gathered to welcome the Olympian home after her overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro, where the Sugar Land swimmer had earned medals in four events, including the first individual gold to be won by an African-American woman in swimming. Triumphant, the 20-year-old arrived a celebrity. “I’m completely humbled by the fact that y’all think I’m an inspiration,” Manuel said, wearing a blue USA pullover and thick-rimmed glasses. “I’m just happy to be back in Texas.” Manuel, who will return to Stanford University in September, wasn’t sure where she would keep her four medals. She held up a gold medal for those gathered, drawing whoops and cheers, and said some were packed away in socks because she hadn’t received official cases for them yet. She was looking forward to her mother’s cooking and a Shipley donut, she said. After all, she hadn’t been home since Christmas. Her mom was excited to have her daughter back in Houston, at least for a little while. “She’s just anormal kid who had a dream and worked really hard to make that dream come true,” Sharron Manuel said. Manuel rocketed into the national spotlight after winning the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, a historic first for an African-American female swimmer. She also took home gold in the 400-meter medley relay, silver in the 400-meter freestyle relay and silver in the 50-meter freestyle. Appreciates support Manuel, who turned 20 earlier this month, made fans of many not only with her accomplishments in the pool but with her exuberance, genuine displays of emotion, well-spoken manner and easy smile. Many considered her an inspiration. In much the same way, she had felt star-struck by athletes she met in Rio like tennis star Serena Williams. Manuel said Wednesday she hoped her win in a sport she loves could also help others accomplish their dreams. “Hopefully, others will see themselves in me,” she said. Manuel acknowledged that she hadn’t “soaked it all in,” but she said she was excited to share the experience with family and friends. “I never thought I would reach this many people, but just to have their support means a lot. It really keeps me going and pushes me hopefully to swim a little faster as I continue my career.” Clusters of red, white and blue balloons decorated the airport lobby area early Wednesday morning. Upon Manuel’s arrival, staffers from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority waved miniature American flags. Members of the drum line at Fort Bend Austin High School, from which Manuel graduated in 2014, sounded out beats as she proceeded through apath lined by admirers eager to see her. Her parents, clad in red USA shirts, greeted her with hugs. The 9-year-old twin daughters of Houston Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Jerry Davis, also festively dressed, held up a “Welcome home Simone” sign. News cameras trailed close behind. Women from the Austin High School dance team stood behind Manuel and cheered as she spoke. They wore patriotic beads over their red, black and white sequined uniforms. Some shook pompoms. The dancers said they arrived at school at 3:30 a.m. in order to travel to the airport in time for Manuel’s scheduled 5:25 a.m. arrival. Alex Paul, 17, who leads the dance team, woke up at 2 a.m. to start getting ready. They were all excited to be there, she said, and proud of Manuel. Besides, Paul said, “I can sleep on the bus.” ‘A rock star’ Assistant dance director Ashlee Williamson, 31, who taught Manuel at the high school for two years, described her as “what you would expect from an Olympic champion: hardworking, dedicated.” For the younger girls, Williamson said, “They feel like they’re meeting a rock star.” Davis remarked that everyone in the airport hall managed to get up that morning to celebrate Manuel and her demonstration of excellence. “We just want to let you know how much we’re proud of you, how much we support you,” Davis told her as the cameras rolled. “And we want to say, ‘Thank you so much’ for all young ladies — that you’ve given them someone to look up to.” Before leaving, Manuel posed for photos with anyone who asked: a TSA staff member, a flight attendant, passengers awaiting flights. Some of the dancers wanted autographs. A drum line member took a picture for his Snapchat. The radio station 97.9 “The Box” was hoping to speak with her via his phone. At 6:50 a.m., Manuel walked out of the airport, with a bouquet of flowers from a fan in one hand, and a Starbucks grande mocha from an airport staff member in the other. It was time to get that donut. Shortly afterward, she tweeted a photo of herself in a car holding up a half-eaten donut with the message, “Happy! Happy!”
