'My wins are not just for me': Manuel earns Olympic bronze medal in 4X100 freestyle relay

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Simone Manuel is a graduate of Fort Bend Austin High School and holds a communications degree from Stanford. | Facebook

Simone Manuel, of Sugar Land, has helped Team USA to a bronze medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay at the Tokyo Summer Games.

Manuel was the anchor on the U.S. team that included fellow swimmers Erika Brown, Abbey Weitzeil and Natalie Hinds, according to Click 2 Houston News. The event took place the morning of July 25 in Japan, the night of July 24 in the States. 

Before the race, Manuel had taken to Twitter to state her motivations for competing.

"My wins are not just for me. They’re for everyone who confronted injustice and broke down barriers. You paved the way," Manuel wrote in a July 21 Twitter post.

Australia took home the gold medal win and the Canadian team just edged out the U.S. team for the silver medal.

Team USA earned one gold, two silvers and three bronze medals total in swimming events that night at the Tokyo Summer Games.

"Congrats to Sugar Land’s Simone Manuel on bring home the bronze medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay for Team USA," Texas State Rep. Jacey Jetton (Richmond) wrote in a July 27 Twitter post. "The Austin High School graduate also brought home two golds and two silvers at the 2016 Olympics."

Manuel will also be competing later in the 50-meter freestyle event during the Tokyo Olympics. 

A graduate of Fort Bend Austin High School, Manuel went on to earn a communications degree from Stanford, according to Team USA.

The bronze brings Manuel's medal total overall count to five. She previously won two golds and two silvers at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For one of her gold medal wins at the 2016 Summer Games, Manuel earned the distinction of becoming the first African American woman to earn a gold medal in an individual swimming event, according to sportscasting.com