Dressel, Ledecky Add Golds for Team USA

Dressel, Ledecky Add Golds for Team USA
Caeleb Dressel of the United States and Kristof Milak of Hungary react after finishing first and second in the men's 100-meter butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on July 31, 2021. (Carl Recine/Reuters)

Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel added gold medals to their hauls on Saturday at the Tokyo Olympics.

Ledecky clocked in at 8 minutes, 12.57 seconds, winning the women’s 800-meter freestyle.

Ledecky, 24, of Washington, finished 1.26 seconds ahead of rival Titmus Ariarne of Australia.

Italy’s Simona Quadarella won bronze, edging Team USA’s Katie Grimes.

Ledecky, who now has 10 Olympic medals, including seven golds, told reporters after the race that she plans on competing at the 2024 Olympics.

“That was not my last swim. I’m at least going to ’24. Maybe ’28, we’ll see,” she said.

“I just knew it was going to be my last swim here. You never take anything for granted. You never know if you’re going to be at the next Olympics,” she added.

ledecky-wins-gold
Gold medalist Katie Ledecky of Team United States poses during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan, on July 31, 2021. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Dressel, meanwhile, won gold in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, touching in 49.45 seconds, good for a new world record.

Hungary’s Kristof Milak finished 0.23 seconds behind, followed by Switzerland’s Ponti Sui.

“I am smiling finally. It was hard, but I had a good race against such noble rivals,” Milak told reporters. “This is a fair result. That was the maximum I could give. I am happy that Caeleb needed a world record to beat me.”

Dressel, 24, of Florida, has three medals at the Olympics, with more events to go.

Team USA didn’t make the podium in the other two swimming finals early Saturday, the women’s 200-meter backstroke and a mixed 4 x 100-meter medley relay.

America is tied with China at 45 total medals but is third in gold behind both China and Japan.

From The Epoch Times

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments