Katie Ledecky gets off to an excellent start in Paris.
Ledecky, who entered the Summer Olympics with six gold medals – one fewer than Jenny Thompson, who has won probably the most gold medals ever as a swimmer, and two fewer than the all-time record for gold medals by an Olympian – began her campaign Saturday morning with a first-place finish in the ladies's 400-meter freestyle preliminary heats.
Ledecky, who was a multiple national champion during her time at Stanford, won her heat with a time of 4:02.19 She narrowly beat her rival Ariarne Titmus of Australia with a time of 4:02.46. Canadian Summer McIntosh, a rising star in the game, finished fourth with a time of 4:02.65.
The final will happen on Saturday afternoon and Ledecky may have her first likelihood at a medal at these Olympic Games.
Over the years, she and Titmus have clashed. While Ledecky holds the Olympic record within the 400-meter freestyle with a time of three:56.46, set on the 2016 Games, Titmus won gold in Tokyo and currently holds the world record with a time of three:55.38.
Stanford junior Torri Huske also got off to start within the pool on Saturday, winning her heat within the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 57.72 seconds to qualify for the semifinals. Her time was the third-best of the 32 competitors.
Gymnastics begins
The U.S. national gymnastics team got off to an excellent start on the Paris Olympics early Saturday morning, despite a disappointing performance from one among its top competitors.
Brody Malone, a multiple national champion at Stanford before graduating last 12 months, delivered an unusually poor performance, starting his competition with a fall on the pommel horse and ending it with a slip on the ground exercise.
Malone was the one returning competitor on the boys's team that represented Team USA in Tokyo. He finished third amongst five U.S. athletes that day, eliminating him from all individual events.
Malone had undergone knee surgery that kept him out of motion for much of the 2023 season, but he returned to Olympic qualifying events in June and put in a convincing performance that earned him qualification for Paris. But after a rocky start on Saturday, he may have to prove himself within the team event.
After an overall strong performance, the boys's team is predicted to advance to the team final on Monday morning.
The men finished second out of eight teams of their sub-division, just behind Great Britain. There are three sub-divisions, with the highest eight teams overall advancing to the ultimate.
Asher Hong, a sophomore at Stanford, is one among the boys who did well, because the Texan native finished his division No. 3 on silent rings (14.633), No. 5 on vault (14.566) and No. 6 on floor exercise (14.100). By mid-morning he had been pushed out of the race for vault and floor exercise, but was still within the race for the rings final.
Simone Biles and the ladies's team begin Sunday at 2:30 a.m. PT
Kohler wins rowing heat
Clayton's Kara Kohler made a direct impression in Paris on Saturday morning.
Kohler was bidding to grow to be the primary American woman to win a gold medal in the only sculls. She won her heat with a time of seven:32.46, qualifying for the quarterfinals early Sunday morning. Her time was the third-best among the many 30 competitors.
She got off the road slowly, but overtook Austrian Magdalena Lobnig within the second half of the race and pulled away with a lead of 6.93 seconds.
“It definitely gives me a confidence boost. I wanted to have a solid race to gain some confidence for the future,” Kohler told US Rowing. “It's definitely good to get them out there. Each race gets more exciting and the stakes are much higher. I think the most important thing is to stay present and remember how to row through all the excitement and adrenaline.”
Three other US teams advanced on the primary day of rowing competition.
Water polo starts hunt for gold medal
The U.S. women's water polo team is off to a beautiful start and is now aiming for its Olympic record: a fourth consecutive gold medal.
In a 15-6 victory over Greece, San Jose native and Stanford sophomore Jenna Flynn led the ladies with 4 goals, while Monte Vista High graduate and Stanford legend Maggie Steffens added two goals. Steffens is the all-time leading scorer on the Olympics.
Badminton team stumbles
Bay Area natives Vinson Chiu of Milpitas and Jennie Gai of Fremont lost their group match representing the U.S. badminton team, losing 2-0 to China. The U.S. has never won a medal in Olympic badminton.
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