Athlete of the Week: Manou Meulebeek

Manou Meulebeek has been striving to reach it since the age of six, when she first dove into the sport. But there’s another element that attracted Manou to diving.

“I'm an adrenaline junkie, and diving gives me such a kick sometimes, especially doing like hard dives or learning new dives, it really just gives me a kick inside, and that fulfills me,” said Manou Meulebeek UTRGV Freshman Springboard Diver.

Born in the Netherlands, Manou competes in the one and three meter diving events. Before joining UTRGV, Manou made a splash at a prestigious event in her homeland.

“Getting bronze medals was also really impressive,” said Meulebeek. “Eindhoven Diving Cup is like one of the biggest competitions in Europe.”

The freshman is back in the pool after fracturing her left foot in early January.

“The hardest part was not being in the water,” said Meulebeek. “And my doctor was also like, no Manou, like, you can't swim yet. You really have to heal. And as an athlete, that's so hard to accept. That was really hard for me.”

The first-year Vaquero is growing with the program. This is the diving team’s first year of competition. Her coach Jennifer Mangum believes Manou can reach great depths by the time she wraps up her collegiate career.

“I think she's going to be one, one of the best divers in the country, not to mention one of the best divers for her country as well,” said Jennifer Mangum UTRGV Diving Coach. “And I know she has really high goals, and we want to try to reach those.”

Manou will continue refining the smallest details in order to achieve the highest scores possible.