The U.S. team's first individual gold medal on the 2024 Summer Olympics went to a Stanford University junior who took a yr off to concentrate on swimming.
21-year-old Torri Huske chased her teammate Gretchen Walsh to win the gold medal within the 100-meter butterfly in France on Saturday.
Huske beat Walsh by 0.04 seconds with a time of 55.59 to secure first and second place on the rostrum.
Tears welled up in Huske’s eyes as she looked up and saw the outcomes.
“I feel like I'm in shock right now,” she said on the NBC show. “I don't even know how to deal with it. I feel like I'm going to cry, but I'm also smiling. It's really surreal. I'm so grateful to be here.”
By the top of Sunday's competition, the United States was leading all countries with 12 medals, including three gold, while Australia was ahead with 4 gold medals.
With two medals, Huske is the star of the US national team at this summer's games.
On Saturday, she ran the fastest split time as a part of the American 4×100 freestyle relay and took silver.
And on Sunday she made amends within the 100-meter butterfly, three years after suffering her heavy loss in Tokyo.
At these Olympic Games, her first as an 18-year-old, she ran at world record pace and led the race until the ultimate meters, but ultimately she was 0.15 seconds in need of the gold medal and 0.01 seconds in need of the rostrum.
Later, as a freshman at Stanford in 2021-2022, she was a seven-time All-American and national champion within the 800-meter freestyle relay.
The following yr, as a sophomore, she was named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year.
As the favourite to win an Olympic medal this cycle, she decided to take a yr off and never play a game her junior yr – of venture that paid off this weekend.
As a native Virginian, she can also be pleased with her Asian American heritage.
“Representation is really important in sports,” Huske told The Athletic last yr. “A little Asian-American girl might see someone like me and think, 'Oh, I can do that.' We all identify with people we see ourselves in.”
Murphy desires to make history within the pool and just manages
Cal legend Ryan Murphy narrowly qualified for the finals within the 100-meter backstroke.
Murphy's time of 52.72 in Sunday's semifinals was barely enough to advance to the ultimate, which can happen Monday at 12 p.m. PT.
He has won a medal within the 100-meter backstroke at two consecutive Olympic Games: gold in 2016 in Rio and bronze in 2021 in Tokyo.
He can also be considered one of the favorites within the 200-meter backstroke, which begins on Wednesday.
With a medal each within the 100 and 200 meters in Paris, Murphy could make history as the primary Olympian ever to win a medal in each backstroke events at three consecutive Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old and former eight-time NCAA individual champion at Cal is seeking to add to his profession record of six Olympic medals, including 4 gold medals.
This story might be updated.
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