Manon van Rooijen
Manon van Rooijen
Elite Clinician
Manon van Rooijen
2x Olympic Medalist (Gold & Silver) | 3x NCAA All-American | High Performance Coach
Location: Katy, Texas
Hometown: Rotterdam, Netherlands
College: University of Miami
Instagram: @phenomanoncoaching
Facebook: PhenoManon Coaching
Career Highlights
Olympic & International Excellence
- 2x Olympic Medalist for the Netherlands: Gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Games and Silver in the same event at the 2000 Sydney Games
- 15-year Dutch National Team veteran (1995–2010), competing at three World Championships (2001, 2003, 2007)
- 2002 European Championships Bronze Medalist in the 4x100m freestyle relay
- 2001 Dutch National Champion in the 100m freestyle
NCAA Division I: University of Miami
- 3x NCAA All-American
- Placed sixth in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle at the 2002 NCAA Championships
- Team Captain for the Miami Hurricanes
- Earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science and Biology
Coaching & Athlete Development
- Founder of PhenoManon Swim & Performance Coaching
- Developed a local under-12 group from zero to nine regional and national qualifiers in three seasons
- Designs educational courses for club coaches and breaks down complex stroke mechanics for age-group swimmers
- Brings firsthand experience returning from shoulder reconstruction to win Olympic Gold while working full-time
Bio
Manon van Rooijen is a two-time Olympic Medalist, a three-time NCAA All-American, and the founder of PhenoManon Swim & Performance Coaching. Originally from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, she earned Silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics before bringing her talents to the University of Miami. As a Miami Hurricane, Manon became a Team Captain and NCAA finalist while earning her degree in Marine Science and Biology.
Her path to Olympic Gold demanded persistence. After undergoing major shoulder reconstruction in 2004, Manon worked her way back to international competition. Four years later, she won Gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Games while balancing training with her first full-time corporate job. Across 15 years with the Dutch National Team, she learned how preparation, attention to detail, and a strong support system help athletes perform under pressure.
Now based in Katy, Texas, Manon brings those lessons to swimmers and coaches through an analytical, supportive approach. Drawing on the guidance of mentors including James Sweeney, Mariusz Podkoscielny, Martin Truijens, and the Dutch National Team staff, she teaches athletes to understand the cause of a technical problem and work through one correction at a time. Her goal is for every swimmer to leave with one or two practical improvements they can feel in the water and continue practicing at their home club.
Manon also understands the importance of protecting a young swimmer’s love for the sport. As a teenager, she faced doubts about her potential, but the encouragement of family, coaches, and teammates helped her keep going. That experience shapes her work today: she partners with swimmers and parents, makes complex skills approachable, and helps athletes build confidence alongside technique. Whether teaching stroke mechanics, refining relay exchanges, or sharing lessons from her Olympic journey, Manon emphasizes that progress grows through consistent practice, supportive relationships, and joy in the water.
From the Clinician
Finding the Cause, Not the Symptom
I look for the cause, not the symptom. A crossed arm or a dropping hip is usually something else going wrong earlier in the stroke. So I fix one thing at a time and keep breaking it down until a 9-year-old can feel it, not just hear it. And I measure myself by one question: is the correction still there three weeks later? If it only holds while I’m on deck, I haven’t taught it yet.
Partnering with Swimmers and Parents
Parents should sign their swimmer up with me because your swimmer leaves with one or two fixes that actually hold, and knows how to practice them at their own club. I’ve been the swimmer nobody picked and the swimmer on the podium, so I understand both. And I’ll talk with you too, because what happens at home and in the car after practice matters as much as what happens in the water.
Protecting the Joy
As a teenager on the Dutch national team, I was told I was the least talented swimmer there, and asked why I was still swimming. The honest answer: I loved it, and the people around me kept that love alive. My parents drove me everywhere, and my grandfather and aunt took over when they couldn’t. My sister always supported me. Teammates who hadn’t qualified still came to meets to cheer. That’s what kept me in the sport long enough to win two Olympic medals. Most kids who quit don’t lack talent. They lose the joy, because nothing around them protects it. I want to share that joy of swimming with young swimmers, and help parents and coaches keep it alive, because a swimmer who loves the sport keeps getting better.
Setting the Bar
In 2004 I had shoulder reconstruction. Four years later I won Olympic gold, while working full-time in my first corporate job. What all of it taught me: no one decides your goals or your limits but you. I once read a line that sums it up for me: you set the bar, the people around you are the pole that gets you over it.
The Details Under Pressure
I treated my support system as part of my training: parents, school, coaches, and teammates all played an important part. As a relay swimmer, I learned that races are won at the exchange. The details you practice until they’re boring are the ones that hold under pressure.
Nobody Wins Alone
Because of swimming, I learned that performance is built by the people around you. It gave me a scholarship and a degree at Miami, friends all over the world, and the discipline to chase an Olympic medal and a career at the same time. Nobody wins alone. Choose the people around you carefully, and be that person for someone else.
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