Bubble trouble: Why it’s clear unprecedented Olympics is taking toll on Team USA
USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour is in Tokyo and has witnessed firsthand the isolation and strict protocols the Olympic athletes have had to deal with these summer games. She says there’s no doubt it’s taking a toll on the athletes.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
Two of USA Swimming’s biggest stars are back in the pool Saturday in Tokyo.
Caeleb Dressel, who already has two golds in these Olympics, could break his own world record when he swims in the final of the 100-meter butterfly to kick off the day’s swimming events.
During Friday’s semifinals, Dressel set a new Olympic record with a time of 49.71, just over two tenths of a second off from the world record he set in 2019. The two-time Olympian is the only man to have ever broken 50 seconds in the event. Hungary’s Kristof Milak had the second-fastest time in the semis, racing a 50.31.
Dressel won his first individual gold in Tokyo in the 100-meter freestyle on Thursday and added another gold in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.
Katie Ledecky, meanwhile, will compete in her final individual race of the Games in the 800-meter freestyle. She’ll attempt to three-peat in the event, having won gold in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Ledecky already won silver in the 400-meter freestyle, gold in the first-ever Olympic 1500-meter freestyle and anchored the silver-winning women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
FRIDAY RECAP: USWNT beats Netherlands in penalty kicks, US swimmers medal
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TOKYO – Simone Biles will skip the event finals for vault and uneven bars, still not ready to compete again after losing her sense of where she is in the air. The announcement was made Saturday morning in Tokyo.
Biles also has qualified for Monday’s floor exercise final and Tuesday’s balance beam final. A decision on her availability for those two events has yet to be made.
Biles will be replaced in the vault final by fellow American MyKayla Skinner. Skinner was fourth on vault in qualifying, but Jade Carey and Biles were ahead of her and countries are limited to two gymnasts per final. Biles’ spot in the uneven bars final will be filled by the first reserve, which currently is France’s Melanie de Jesus dos Santos.
–Nancy Armour
TOKYO – Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer of all time, won the women’s 800-meter freestyle for the third consecutive Olympic Games.
Ledecky won in 8:12.57, beating silver medalist Australian Ariarne Titmus by 1.26 seconds.
With the victory, Ledecky, 24, closed out her 2020 Olympics with two golds and two silvers. She has said she is going to keep swimming to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
–Christine Brennan
In the women’s 200 backstroke final, Americans Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon fell short of the podium. White finished in fourth with 2:06.39 and Bacon finished a place behind her with 2:06.40. Australian Kaylee McKeown, Canadian Kylie Masse and Australian Emily Seebohm took the top three spots.
The U.S. now has 25 medals in swimming – seven gold, nine silver and nine bronze.
TOKYO – U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dressel took gold in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, breaking his own world record and marking his third gold-medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
Dressel finished in 49.45 seconds ahead of Hungary’s Kristof Milak and Switzerland’s Noe Ponti. He set an Olympic record with a time of 49.71 during Friday’s semifinals, which was two tenths of a second slower than the world record he set in 2019. He is the only man to have broken 50 seconds in the event.
The two-time Olympian will compete in three events total on Friday – the 100-meter butterfly final, the men’s 50-meter freestyle semifinal later today and the mixed 4×100-meter medley relay final. Dressel took his first Tokyo gold in the 100-meter freestyle and picked up another gold in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.
–Christine Brennan
TOKYO – Morgan Pearson gutted out a blistering run on the final leg of the triathlon mixed relay on Saturday to give the United States a silver medal in the event’s Olympic debut.
Katie Zaferes, the bronze medalist in the women’s race, gave the Americans a narrow lead on the first leg, but the U.S. team was in second when Pearson took over the final leg. France’s Vincent Luis came from third to first halfway through the bike on the final leg, but Pearson ran him down to finish second.
Britain won gold, while France took bronze in the first Olympic race for the event, in which teams of four each swim 300 meters, bike 7.4 kilometers and run 2 kilometers.
–Rachel Axon
Ever wonder how the horses used for equestrian competitions at the Olympics make it to the host cities? Just like their riders, they fly business class, and it took 19 planes to transport over 300 horses to Tokyo.
The U.S. team, which consists of 12 Olympic and Paralympic athletes along with coaches, groomers, doctors and more, flew first to Europe for their pre-export quarantine before heading to Tokyo. Each horse’s groomer and vet has to bring a month’s worth of supplies with them. Team USA is known for overpacking.
Horses don’t have any more trouble flying than humans, though. Some like it more than others, and they’re tended to during the entirety of the flight.
–Gabriela Miranda and Rachel Axon
Another new event, the triathlon mixed relay, makes its debuts at the Tokyo Olympics.
There are 17 countries listed as competing in the event. Each country has a four-person team — two men and two women — who will each compete in a super sprint triathlon that consists of a 300-meter swim, 6.8-kilometer bike ride and 2-kilometer run. The order of competitors will alternate between genders and start with a woman.
Kevin McDowell, Morgan Pearson, Taylor Knibb and Katie Zaferes will race for the U.S. Zaferes finished third in the women’s individual event on Monday.
Team USA has won five World Championship medals since this triathlon discipline was formalized in 2009, including gold in 2016 and silver in 2020. France is the three-time defending world champion. Australia and Great Britain will be other teams to watch.
Xander Schauffele overtook Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz in Friday’s second round for first place halfway through the tournament. He shot 8-under par on the day and is 11-under in the tournament heading into the third round. Schauffele is likely the best shot Team USA has for a medal in men’s golf.
Schauffele’s fellow Americans, Patrick Reed and Collin Moriwaka, are 8-shots back from the lead.
The first two days of the Olympic tournament have been marred by bad weather, with stoppages occurring due to storms in the area.
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