Paris Olympics 2024 Monday and Tuesday 7.29 and 7.30

7.29.24 Monday-- 

The BIG news of Monday was that the US Men won a bronze in the Team Gymnastics event!!! It is the first time they have medaled in this event since 2008. The whole competition, they say was very much in the spirit of an NCAA meet which is about the brotherhood and cheering each other on. The men on the team could be heard routing for each other throughout the competition. Their energy was different. What was particularly touching for me was seeing the men with their loved ones after they won their medals. Each of them has such special stories and I loved seeing how proud their families are. I felt a great sense of pride watching as an American. 

The Japanese team beat China to win the gold. 

Men's Gymnastics Team Competition

1. Japan, 259.594
2. China, 259.062

3. USA, 257.793 (Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, Frederick Richard) 

Total Team Effort! 

Paul Juda: 

Floor Exercise-- 14.2, Vault-- 14.666, Pommel Horse-- 13.9, Horizontal Bar-- 13.366

Frederick Richard: 

Floor Exercise-- 14.466, Parallel Bars 14.566, Rings-- 14.033, Horizontal Bar-- 14.833

Brody Malone:

Pommel Horse-- 13.700, Vault-- 14.533, Parallel Bars 14.433, Rings-- 14.166, Horizontal Bar-- 14.166

Asher Hong:

Floor Exercise-- 14.133, Vault-- 14.833, Rings 14.533, Parallel Bars-- 14.400

Stephen Nedoroscik:

Pommel Horse-- 14.866 

29 year old Ryan Murphy wanted to medal in the backstroke in three Olympics. He snagged a bronze, but he got more than that, he also got a gender reveal from his wife who revealed that they're having a girl on a poster as she sat in the stands with his family. It was Italy's Thomas Ceccon who is the current world record holder to win the gold. 

Men's 100m Backstroke

1. Thomas Ceccon, Italy 52.00

2. Jiayu Xu, China 52.32

3. Ryan Murphy, USA 52.39

from People magazine:

There was nothing more dramatic than the Men's 200m Freestyle. Look how close the standings were.....

It's like everyone touched in the same second!!! 

Men's 200m Freestyle

1. David Popovic, Romania 1:44.72

2. Matthew Richards, Great Britain 1:44:74

3. Luke Hobson, USA 1:44:79 😱😱😱

In the Women's 400m Individual Medley the US ladies did it again, but this time they went 2, 3. Katie Grimes just out touched Emma Weyant by a second and a half. The real news... Summer Mcintosh at 17 from Canada won gold in the event. Her mother was also an Olympic swimmer. 

Women's 400m Individual Medley

1. Summer Mcintosh, Canada 4:27:71

2. Katie Grimes, USA 4:33:40

3. Emma Weyant, USA 4:34:93

7.30.24 Tuesday--

Simone Biles called this "the redemption tour", and that it was. She can be confident now and close that chapter called "Tokyo". Biles, along with Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera became the fourth American team to win an Olympic gold medal. They won in BIG form over 5 points ahead of Italy in second place. Italy got it's first Olympic medal in 96 years snagging silver, and Brazil won it's first ever team medal in history taking the bronze. This brought Simone's medal count to 8 (including five gold!), and she passed Shannon Miller as the most decorated gymnast. Fitting for the career that Simone has had. Her husband and parents watched proudly from the stands along with the other families cheering her on every step of the way. 

Women's Team Gymnastics 

1. USA, (Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera) 171.296

2. Italy, 165.494

3. Brazil, 164.497

Team Scores: 

Simone Biles: 

Vault-- 14.9, Uneven Bars-- 14.4, Balance Beam-- 14.366, Floor Exercise-- 14.666

Jade Carey:

Vault-- 14.8

Jordan Chiles:

Vault-- 14.4, Uneven Bars-- 14.366, Balance Beam-- 12.733, Floor Exercise-- 13.966

Suni Lee:

Uneven Bars-- 14.566, Balance Beam-- 14.6, Floor Exercise-- 13.533

This US swim team has been struggling with grabbing golds thus far this Olympics.... 

Tuesday's results were not disappointing by any means, just not what we're used to from Team USA. 

Robert (Bobby) Finke, Katie Ledecky's training partner came through with a silver medal in the Men's 800m Freestyle. Daniel Wiffen of Ireland won the first gold medal ever in swimming for Ireland. 

Men's 800m Freestyle

1. Daniel Wiffen, Ireland 7:38:19

2. Robert Finke, USA 7:38:75

3. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy 7:39:38

Australia continued their swimming dominance this Olympics with a gold in the Women's 100m Backstroke. The US women took silver and bronze respectively. 

Women's 100m Backstroke

1. Kaylee McKeown, Australia 57.33

2. Regan Smith, USA 57.66

3. Katharine Berkoff, USA 57.98

Lastly, the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay was all the usual suspects! 

Men's 4x200m Freestyle

1. Great Britain 6:59:43

2. USA 7:00:78 (Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler, Kieran Smith)

3. Australia 7:01:98 

Paris Olympics 2024 Update Saturday and Sunday 7.27 and 7.28

Saturday 7.27.24-- 

The first day of competition saw the American men win a gold in the swimming relay, the 4x100m Freestyle. The team was comprised of first time Olympians Jack Alexy and Chris Guiliano, and returning Olympians Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel (both previously gold medalists).

Men's 4x100m Freestyle

1. USA, 3:09:28
2. Australia, 3:10:35
3. Italy, 3:10:70

The women could not overcome Team Australia but still finished with a silver in the same event. Returning Olympians Katie Douglass, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel  joined first time Olympian Gretchen Walsh. 

Women's 4x100m Freestyle

1. Australia, 3:28:92
2. USA, 3:30:20
3. China, 3:30:30

Ariarne Titus of Australia defended her 400m Freestyle gold medal from Tokyo against 17 year old phenom Summer Mcintosh from Canada, and 10 time medalist Katie Ledecky from the US. 

Women's 400m Freestyle

1. Ariarne Titmus, Australia, 3:57:49
2. Summer Mcintosh, Canada, 3:58:37
3. Katie Ledecky, USA, 4:00:86

Divers Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, affectionately known as "Cook n' Bacon" earned silver medals for the US in the 3m Synchronized Springboard Diving event, the first medals for each of them and the first American medals in this event since 2012.

Women's 3m Synchronized Springboard Diving

1. Yani Chang, Yimen Chen from China, 337.68
2. Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook from USA, 314.64
3. Yasmin Harper, Scarlet Mew Jensen from Great Britain, 302.28

Sunday 7.28.24-- 

In Fencing, Lee Kiefer of the US defended her Olympic title in Women's Foil. Her opponent, teammate Lauren Scruggs who upset World #1 Arianna Errigo of Italy. But it doesn't stop there, more history was made with Eleanor Harvey of Canada who formed the first non European podium in this event in Olympic history. 

Fencing Women's Individual Foil

1. Lee Kiefer, USA
2. Lauren Scruggs, USA
3. Eleanor Harvey, Canada

Nic Fink of the US picked up a silver in the Men's 100m Breaststroke. The amazing thing about Nic Fink is that swimming is a hobby for him! He works a full time job with his master's degree in Electrical Engineering. This is his second Olympics and he is peaking at 31 years of age. 

Men's 100m Breaststroke

1. Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy 59.03
2. Nic Fink, USA 59.05
2. Adam Peaty, Great Britain, 59.05

As a side note, Adam Peaty who tied for silver with Nic Fink tested positive for Covid after this race. 

The Women's 100m Butterfly saw the US ladies go 1, 2 in exciting fashion. This was a close race and everyone was right there. Torri Huske edged out favorite Gretchen Walsh. After the race, Torri said, I'm so thanknful to be here with Gretchen. It's just amazing. I've had a long road but I've had a lot of support and I'm so thankful for all of it." 

Women's 100m Butterfly

1. Torri Huske, USA 55.59
2. Gretchen Walsh, USA 55.63
3. Yufei Zhang, China 56.21

In a sweet moment, Torri asked Gretchen to join her atop the podium when she accepted her gold. 

Leon Marchand of France brought down the house and made a new Olympic record in the Men's 400m IM. Carson Foster of the US made it on to the podium winning a bronze. 

Men's 400m Individual Medley

1. Leon Marchand, France 4:02:95 Olympic Record
2. Tomoyuki Matsushita, Japan 4:08:62
3. Carson Foster, USA 4:08:66