Thursday, July 29, 2021
Records Fall, Medal Count Rises for U.S. in Tokyo
The fifth swimming session at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 started off with a bang—an American-record setting bang—courtesy of Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics/University of Florida).
A powerful field featuring Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk went out fast, keeping Finke bouncing from second-through-sixth place throughout the first 400 meters. Out of the halfway turn, Finke found himself in fifth place, where he remained for each of the next six laps. Once he hit the 750-meter mark, Finke flipped on the burners.
“I noticed when I was like 10 meters off (the final flip turn) that I was catching a little bit of ground and that is the only motivation I needed to try and pass and get my hand on the wall,” Finke said.
Finke willed his way to the touch, going a ridiculous 26.39 on his last split to climb from fourth place all the way to first in just the final length of the swim, capturing the first gold medal of his career and the first medal ever by a U.S. swimmer in the event, which was making its Olympic debut.
Finke’s time of 7:41.87 set a new American record, besting his previous time of 7:42.72 that he set in yesterday’s prelims. Before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming this past June, Finke was ranked 24th in the world in the event. Now, just two months later, he has an Olympic gold medal and two American-record breaking swims to his name.
Next up on the bill of events was the men’s 200m breaststroke, where lone American Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) finished fifth in 2:07.93. His time was eight tenths out of medal territory and a second-and-a-half behind Australia’s Izaac Stubblety-Cook, who captured gold in an Olympic record time of 2:06.38.
“It was a good race and those guys were really moving,” Fink said. “I can’t be too upset with my performance, especially with my second-fastest time ever. It is what it is – Team USA is doing so well and I’m just happy to be a part of it.
Shortly thereafter, a pair of U.S. women who have already won medals continued their successes in Tokyo, as the women’s 200m butterfly saw Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Riptide) win silver in 2:05.30, followed by Hali Flickinger (Spring Grove, Pa./Sun Devil Swimming) for bronze in 2:05.65. Both women already had medals coming into this race—Smith with a bronze in the 100m backstroke and Flickinger with a bronze in the 400m I.M.—but this medal makes them the first two U.S. swimmers so far to win medals in multiple disciplines during their time in Tokyo.
“I’m super, super pleased with my swim and I’m proud of Hali (Flickinger) as well,” Smith said. “Being next to her is super fun. At the same time, I was just trying to stay in my lane and not worry about anyone else. But yes, silver in the 200 fly, I never thought I would make it to the Olympics in the 200 fly, so I’m psyched.”
“I was able to stand up and swim for our country and there is nothing better than that,” Flickinger added. “We’re coming home with a medal, both silver and bronze, so that is exciting.”
That excitement carried into the next event: the men’s 100m freestyle.
Caeleb Dressel took to the water in a loaded final field that featured four of the top-11 swimmers of all time in the event.
Dressel used a quick reaction off the blocks (.60, to be exact) and his signature power in his underwaters to jump out to an early lead – making the turn in first with a 22.39 first 50. Dressel and Australia’s Kyle Chalmers battled in the back half of the race before Dressel out-touched Chalmers 47.02 to 47.08. Dressel’s time set a new Olympic record.
“It’s so fun going with Kyle (Chalmers),” Dressel said after the race. “I feel like it’s really fun to watch me and Kyle go head-to-head. I think internationally, I think we’re 2-2 now, I think I tied it up. He got me in ‘16, he beat me at Pan Pacs, he didn’t compete at worlds, ‘19 I beat him and then right there, we’re 2-2. . . I got nothing but respect for him. I mean, in ‘16 I found out who he was real quick, and then it is so fun going back with him. He congratulated me on the wedding, he checks in with me every now and then to see how training is going, he is just a great guy.”
The time was good for an Olympic medal, and the gold itself increases Dressel’s career total in Olympic competition to four, though this is his first individual Olympic medal.
“It is different, and I know that,” Dressel said of the feeling of an individual medal versus a relay medal. “I didn’t want to admit it, but now that I did it, I can admit it. It’s a lot different, you can’t rely on anyone else – it's just you and the water. There’s no one there to bail you out, it’s tough.”
Rounding out the night was an exhilarating women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. The U.S. sent Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich./Sun Devil Swimming), Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./University of Virginia), Katie McLaughlin (Dana Point, Calif./California Aquatics/North Bay) and Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital/Alto Swim Club) to represent the red, white and blue.
Schmitt led off with a 1:56.34 split, followed by Madden and McLaughlin with 1:55.25 and 1:55.38 splits, respectively. Heading into the final 200 meters, the U.S. was sitting in third place, over a second-and-a-half behind Australia for second. Ledecky immediately started surging, pulling out a 1:53.76 split to overthrow the Australian team to capture silver in 7:40.73.
“I just saw how close we were, and I knew I could give it my all and get us into that position,” Ledecky said of her split.
“I think, just going in, we wanted to give our best,” McLaughlin added. “We all started the race together, not really having expectations of who would be where, but just getting in there and really doing our best and leaning on each other and supporting each other was our goal through the race.”
All three medal-winning relay teams—China, USA and Australia—beat the world record, but it was China’s 7:40.33 who now sits atop the list of world records.
The silver win gives first-Olympic-medal honors to McLaughlin and Madden, as well as Bella Sims (Henderson, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Brooke Forde (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team), who represented the U.S. in the event’s prelims.
For Schmitt, this is the tenth medal of her career, making her one the sixth female swimmer to ever record 10 or more Olympic medals. Shortly behind her on that list is Ledecky, who now has nine career Olympic medals, moving her into a tie for seventh on the all-time list of Olympic female swimmers.
“Getting to the Olympics is hard, winning an Olympic medal is even harder,” Schmitt said. “To have this type of medal with these three other girls, I can’t even put it into words. I know, for the world, this past year has been extremely hard, and to be here, to be diving in for an Olympic final and then coming back and bringing that silver medal back to the U.S., it is something I’ll never take for granted.”
In semifinal action, the following swimmers have punched their tickets to tomorrow’s finals:
• Abbey Weitzeil (Santa Clarita, Calif./California Aquatics), seventh seed in the 100m freestyle with a 52.99.
• Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics/Bolles), third seed in the 200m backstroke with a 1:55.38.
• Bryce Mefford (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Sierra Marlins Swim Team/Cal) sixth seed in the 200m backstroke with a 1:56.37.
• Annie Lazor (Beverly Hills, Mich./Mission Viejo Nadadores), third seed in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:21.94
• Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), fifth seed in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:22.27.
• Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./MA Swim Academy), fourth seed in the 200m I.M. with a 1:57.08.
Chase Kalisz (12th, 200m I.M.) and Erika Brown (13th, 100m freestyle) also competed in semifinals, but did not advance to tomorrow’s final.
A powerful field featuring Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk went out fast, keeping Finke bouncing from second-through-sixth place throughout the first 400 meters. Out of the halfway turn, Finke found himself in fifth place, where he remained for each of the next six laps. Once he hit the 750-meter mark, Finke flipped on the burners.
“I noticed when I was like 10 meters off (the final flip turn) that I was catching a little bit of ground and that is the only motivation I needed to try and pass and get my hand on the wall,” Finke said.
Finke willed his way to the touch, going a ridiculous 26.39 on his last split to climb from fourth place all the way to first in just the final length of the swim, capturing the first gold medal of his career and the first medal ever by a U.S. swimmer in the event, which was making its Olympic debut.
Finke’s time of 7:41.87 set a new American record, besting his previous time of 7:42.72 that he set in yesterday’s prelims. Before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming this past June, Finke was ranked 24th in the world in the event. Now, just two months later, he has an Olympic gold medal and two American-record breaking swims to his name.
Next up on the bill of events was the men’s 200m breaststroke, where lone American Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) finished fifth in 2:07.93. His time was eight tenths out of medal territory and a second-and-a-half behind Australia’s Izaac Stubblety-Cook, who captured gold in an Olympic record time of 2:06.38.
“It was a good race and those guys were really moving,” Fink said. “I can’t be too upset with my performance, especially with my second-fastest time ever. It is what it is – Team USA is doing so well and I’m just happy to be a part of it.
Shortly thereafter, a pair of U.S. women who have already won medals continued their successes in Tokyo, as the women’s 200m butterfly saw Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Riptide) win silver in 2:05.30, followed by Hali Flickinger (Spring Grove, Pa./Sun Devil Swimming) for bronze in 2:05.65. Both women already had medals coming into this race—Smith with a bronze in the 100m backstroke and Flickinger with a bronze in the 400m I.M.—but this medal makes them the first two U.S. swimmers so far to win medals in multiple disciplines during their time in Tokyo.
“I’m super, super pleased with my swim and I’m proud of Hali (Flickinger) as well,” Smith said. “Being next to her is super fun. At the same time, I was just trying to stay in my lane and not worry about anyone else. But yes, silver in the 200 fly, I never thought I would make it to the Olympics in the 200 fly, so I’m psyched.”
“I was able to stand up and swim for our country and there is nothing better than that,” Flickinger added. “We’re coming home with a medal, both silver and bronze, so that is exciting.”
That excitement carried into the next event: the men’s 100m freestyle.
Caeleb Dressel took to the water in a loaded final field that featured four of the top-11 swimmers of all time in the event.
Dressel used a quick reaction off the blocks (.60, to be exact) and his signature power in his underwaters to jump out to an early lead – making the turn in first with a 22.39 first 50. Dressel and Australia’s Kyle Chalmers battled in the back half of the race before Dressel out-touched Chalmers 47.02 to 47.08. Dressel’s time set a new Olympic record.
“It’s so fun going with Kyle (Chalmers),” Dressel said after the race. “I feel like it’s really fun to watch me and Kyle go head-to-head. I think internationally, I think we’re 2-2 now, I think I tied it up. He got me in ‘16, he beat me at Pan Pacs, he didn’t compete at worlds, ‘19 I beat him and then right there, we’re 2-2. . . I got nothing but respect for him. I mean, in ‘16 I found out who he was real quick, and then it is so fun going back with him. He congratulated me on the wedding, he checks in with me every now and then to see how training is going, he is just a great guy.”
The time was good for an Olympic medal, and the gold itself increases Dressel’s career total in Olympic competition to four, though this is his first individual Olympic medal.
“It is different, and I know that,” Dressel said of the feeling of an individual medal versus a relay medal. “I didn’t want to admit it, but now that I did it, I can admit it. It’s a lot different, you can’t rely on anyone else – it's just you and the water. There’s no one there to bail you out, it’s tough.”
Rounding out the night was an exhilarating women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. The U.S. sent Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich./Sun Devil Swimming), Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./University of Virginia), Katie McLaughlin (Dana Point, Calif./California Aquatics/North Bay) and Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital/Alto Swim Club) to represent the red, white and blue.
Schmitt led off with a 1:56.34 split, followed by Madden and McLaughlin with 1:55.25 and 1:55.38 splits, respectively. Heading into the final 200 meters, the U.S. was sitting in third place, over a second-and-a-half behind Australia for second. Ledecky immediately started surging, pulling out a 1:53.76 split to overthrow the Australian team to capture silver in 7:40.73.
“I just saw how close we were, and I knew I could give it my all and get us into that position,” Ledecky said of her split.
“I think, just going in, we wanted to give our best,” McLaughlin added. “We all started the race together, not really having expectations of who would be where, but just getting in there and really doing our best and leaning on each other and supporting each other was our goal through the race.”
All three medal-winning relay teams—China, USA and Australia—beat the world record, but it was China’s 7:40.33 who now sits atop the list of world records.
The silver win gives first-Olympic-medal honors to McLaughlin and Madden, as well as Bella Sims (Henderson, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Brooke Forde (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team), who represented the U.S. in the event’s prelims.
For Schmitt, this is the tenth medal of her career, making her one the sixth female swimmer to ever record 10 or more Olympic medals. Shortly behind her on that list is Ledecky, who now has nine career Olympic medals, moving her into a tie for seventh on the all-time list of Olympic female swimmers.
“Getting to the Olympics is hard, winning an Olympic medal is even harder,” Schmitt said. “To have this type of medal with these three other girls, I can’t even put it into words. I know, for the world, this past year has been extremely hard, and to be here, to be diving in for an Olympic final and then coming back and bringing that silver medal back to the U.S., it is something I’ll never take for granted.”
In semifinal action, the following swimmers have punched their tickets to tomorrow’s finals:
• Abbey Weitzeil (Santa Clarita, Calif./California Aquatics), seventh seed in the 100m freestyle with a 52.99.
• Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics/Bolles), third seed in the 200m backstroke with a 1:55.38.
• Bryce Mefford (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Sierra Marlins Swim Team/Cal) sixth seed in the 200m backstroke with a 1:56.37.
• Annie Lazor (Beverly Hills, Mich./Mission Viejo Nadadores), third seed in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:21.94
• Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), fifth seed in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:22.27.
• Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./MA Swim Academy), fourth seed in the 200m I.M. with a 1:57.08.
Chase Kalisz (12th, 200m I.M.) and Erika Brown (13th, 100m freestyle) also competed in semifinals, but did not advance to tomorrow’s final.