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.