Tag: tokyo olympics

The strategy behind Olympic swimming’s new, must-see event: mixed 4×100-meter medley relay

Trust us: You’re not going to want to miss this race.

The Tokyo Olympics feature three new events in the pool: the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle, the men’s 800-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter mixed medley relay. Americans Katie Ledecky dominated the 1,500 while Bobby Finke pulled off an incredible comeback to win the 800.

But the 4×100 mixed medley relay’s final is set for Saturday morning in Tokyo and Friday night in the U.S., and this new Olympic event could end up being the best and most fun relay in the pool. This event is already part of the world championships’ lineup, and based on prelims earlier this week, the final is going to be a wild, must-see race.

The medley relay features 100s of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle – in that order — and for the mixed medley relay, two men and two women in any order will tackle the legs.

[lawrence-related id=1059086]

And how coaches put together what they believe is the best combination of swimmers involves a ton of strategy.

“We’re looking at a lot of data points to help us make the best decision to help that relay get on the podium and hopefully win gold for the U.S.,” Team USA’s men’s head coach Dave Durden said earlier this month at Olympic training camp.

Teams will have to weigh their best specialized swimmers against the most advantageous order based on gender — all while considering what lineup their competitors might put forth.

Check out the relay from 2019 world championships, via NBC Sports:

Your browser does not support iframes.

In prelims at the Tokyo Games, Team USA’s lineup had Regan Smith swimming backstroke, Michael Andrew doing breaststroke, Tom Shields on butterfly and Abbey Weitzeil anchoring with freestyle. The team finished second with a time of 3:41.02 in its heat to Great Britain — which broke the Olympic record with a 3:38.75 race — and the two teams are seeded 1-2 going into the final.

However, lineups are likely to change for the final, and Team USA’s mixed medley relay final could include Caeleb Dressel, Lydia Jacoby or Ryan Murphy. (SwimSwam broke down the many, many options for how the American relay team could look.)

Durden continued explaining how he and Team USA’s women’s coach Greg Meehan will determine the final lineup:

“There’s a lot of math that goes into some of those decisions, but there’s also some environmental circumstances that we’re looking at: Who we’re swimming next to, where we’re swimming in heats, where we’re swimming — knock on wood — potentially, into the finals, how our athletes are moving through the front half of the meet.

“So there’s that and looking at the event orders at those particular sessions and making sure that we’re prepping people or we’re swimming people in the right way that’s not impacting their individual swims but also helping us as Team USA win a gold medal.”

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty competes in the final of the mixed 4x100m medley relay at the LEN European Aquatics Championships in May 2021. (ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

[lawrence-related id=1058534]

So when will fans know who exactly is on Team USA’s mixed medley relay team? Likely not too long before the final itself.

Meehan explained:

“An hour before the end of the session, we’ll have a relay card turned in that’ll be the plan that’s communicated externally. The one nice thing about where the mixed medley falls — somewhat similar to the respective men’s medley [and] women’s medley [relays] — is it’s on the tail end of the meet, and we’ll have seen a lot of things at that point.

“We’ll have seen most of the hundreds of stroke and 100 freestyles, and so we’ll have a good sense of where everybody is and just utilize that — along with all the things that Dave mentioned — to put together those four individuals … at night prelims who are going to help Team USA make the final a day and a half later.

“And then for those four who are going to be on it at finals to go compete for a gold medal, we’re just going to kind of simplify from that.”

Joining the U.S. and Great Britain in the 4×100 mixed medley relay final are China, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, the Russian Olympic Committee and Israel.

The final is scheduled for about 11:45 a.m. Saturday morning in Japan, which is about 10:45 p.m. ET. Trust us: You’re not going to want to miss this race.

[mm-video type=video id=01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm playlist_id=01fb9s4k51ngtccr6s player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm-168dcaab44245738d42ee05a4283d98e.jpg]

[listicle id=1058219]

[listicle id=1049842]

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker had a heartwarming moment with Lilly King, teammates after breaking 200 breaststroke WR

What a wonderful moment.

The women’s 200-meter breaststroke final at the Tokyo Olympics was filled with excitement as South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold and broke the world record with a speedy 2:18.95 swim, just ahead of Americans Lilly King and Annie Lazor, who won silver and bronze, respectively

While it looked like Schoenmaker knew she won the gold medal Friday morning in Japan (Thursday night in the U.S.), it seemingly took her a second to realize she broke the world record — the first individual world record broken in the pool at these Games.

But when she did, Schoenmaker’s reaction was priceless as she screamed and began crying before Lazor wrapped her arm around the gold-medal winner.

And then in a truly heartwarming moment, King and South African swimmer Kaylene Corbett, who finished fifth, joined Schoenmaker and Lazor, and the foursome celebrated their Olympic swims together.

They all seemed genuinely happy for each other but especially for Schoenmaker, who still seemed to be in disbelief over her record-breaking race.

These athletes are, of course, super competitive, but it’s always sweet when they can celebrate each other’s success too.

With the silver medal and a time of 2:19.92 — nearly a second behind Schoenmaker — King won her first 200 breaststroke medal at an international meet after finishing 12th in the event at the 2016 Rio Games. Lazor, King’s training partner, won her first Olympic medal at her first Games with a time of 2:20.84.

Earlier this week, King also won the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke behind silver medalist Schoenmaker and 17-year-old Alaska native Lydia Jacoby.

And the two American breaststrokers continued expressing their support and love for each other in their on-deck interview with NBC after the race.

“I wouldn’t have done that if [Lazor] wasn’t right there next to me,” King told NBC. “This is what we’ve been working for, and I’m so proud.”

[mm-video type=video id=01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm playlist_id=01fb9s4k51ngtccr6s player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm-168dcaab44245738d42ee05a4283d98e.jpg]

[listicle id=1058219]

[listicle id=1049842]

6 questions with Team USA swimmers, including what event they’d want to add to the Olympics

We asked some Team USA swimmers these roundtable questions about the Olympics.

The Tokyo Olympics’ swimming lineup this week has some new events added to the mix with the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle, the men’s 800-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter mixed medley relay. But what events would some of Team USA’s top swimmers like to see added next? We found out.

Ahead of the Summer Games, For The Win asked several swimmers a variety of questions to help fans get to know them a little better. We asked about how they train, other Olympic events they think it’d be cool to compete in, what they think about while staring at the bottom of a pool for hours every day and more.

Here are the Team USA swimmers included in this roundtable, along with the (mostly) individual events they’re competing in at the Tokyo Olympics and the results if the event final has already taken place:

  • Katie Ledecky — 200 free (5th), 400 free (silver), 800 free, 1,500 free (gold)
  • Caeleb Dressel — 50 free, 100 free (gold), 100 butterfly
  • Simone Manuel — 50 free
  • Ryan Murphy — 100 backstroke (bronze), 200 backstroke
  • Allison Schmitt — 200 free (11th)
  • Lilly King — 100 breaststroke (bronze), 200 breaststroke
  • Torri Huske — 100 butterfly (4th)
  • Natalie Hinds — 4×100 free relay (bronze)
  • Michael Andrew — 50 free, 100 breaststroke (4th), 200 IM

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

[mm-video type=video id=01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm playlist_id=01fb9s4k51ngtccr6s player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm-168dcaab44245738d42ee05a4283d98e.jpg]

Gators News: Pair of swimmers earn gold giving US lead in Tokyo

So far, current and former Gators have brought home eight medals, including a pair earned by two UF wet heads that put the United States over the top in the gold medal count.

The Tokyo Olympics continue to roll along this week and so have the members of the Orange and Blue. So far, current and former Gators have brought home eight medals, including a pair earned by two UF wet heads that put the United States over the top in the gold medal count. Here is a look at the two gold-medalist swimmers.

[exco_embed id=”e5869bc6-faf6-4b7a-8c06-b5610c96a8fe”]

This video of the Fiji men’s rugby team singing their hearts out after winning gold is so beautiful

What an incredibly beautiful and powerful moment.

The Fiji men’s rugby sevens team took home the gold medal on Wednesday with a 27-12 win over New Zealand.

The victory made them back-to-back Olympic champs, as they won gold in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, but this one meant so much more to them considering their painful journey to this point that had the players isolated away from their families five to six months because of the pandemic.

Jerry Tuwai, the team’s captain, said after the win:

“I nearly jumped camp because I missed them,” Tuwai said, crediting Fiji coach Gareth Baber for convincing him to see a bigger picture and keep the squad together “so we can continue the journey to Tokyo. We’ve been away from our family for about five or six months,” he added. “I think this one is special.”

That all makes this video of the team singing after getting their medals all the more emotional.

This is tremendous:

Twitter loved it:

Get to know Suni Lee: 5 facts about the American gymnast who won gold in Olympic all-around

She’ll attempt the most difficult uneven bars routine in the world.

UPDATE: Lee won gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around! So we’re re-publishing this post from earlier in the month.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next up is Suni Lee.

It hasn’t been an easy road to Tokyo for Suni Lee, who’s overcome a number of obstacles to secure a spot on Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team as the  squad’s top qualifier only behind superstar Simone Biles.

Lee, an 18 year old from Minnesota, will make her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Olympics, where she’ll certainly draw attention with her world-class uneven bars routine, which gives her a chance to contend for several medals, ranging from team competition to all-around to event finals.

Here are five things to know about Lee ahead of this summer’s Games.

READ MORE FROM OUR TOKYO OLYMPICS 23 in 23 SERIES HERE.

Caeleb Dressel’s tearful moment with his family after his 100-meter win was so great

It got a little dusty in here!

These Tokyo Olympics have been hard – on the athletes and also on their families. We’re all finding out that’s what happens when you hold the Games during a global pandemic.

While the athletes are holed in the Olympic bubble in Tokyo, their loved ones are mostly back home where all they can do is gather together and turn on their TVs and watch the events that mean so much to them.

I can’t imagine what it must feel like for a mom or a dad or a husband or a wife or a boyfriend or a girlfriend or anyone who is close to them to watch from thousands of miles away as someone they love so deeply goes after their lifelong dreams on the other side of the world.

NBC has struggled a lot during these Olympics but one of the good things they have done has been showing the reactions from family watch parties back home in the states.

Last night we saw an incredible one of those moments as Caeleb Dressel’s family was shown going nuts back in Orlando, Fl. as he made his furious way down the stretch of the men’s 100-freestyle and taking gold with a new Olympic record of 47.02 seconds.

In normal circumstances he would have celebrated by waving to his wife and family sitting up above the pool in the arena.

Instead, he spoke with them in video call on NBC just moments after his win and it was pretty darn special with he and his wife, Meghan, in tears as his she told him over and over again that she loves him so much.

I mean man, this video is awesome:

And then this one during the anthem was equally emotional.

Again, none of this has been easy one anyone but these moments where the athletes and their families can still celebrate together, even being thousands of miles away from each other, have been darn special.

Quick hits: Final NBA mock draft… Aaron Rodgers held nothing back in an incredible press conference… Marshawn Lynch’s hilarious take on Rodgers… And more.

– The 2021 NBA Draft is tonight and Bryan Kalbrosky has his final mock draft to get you ready for what should be a fun night.

– Aaron Rodgers spoke with the media yesterday for the first time since reporting to training camp and he calmly held nothing back while talking about what bothered him the most about the Packers’ front office.

– Speaking of Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch had a classic Marshawn Lynch take on the whole situation with the QB and the Packers.

– Patrick Mahomes is back to throwing no-look passes at practice.

– Giannis Antetokounmpo is just like us – he doesn’t want to pay NBC to watch the men’s basketball team play in the Olympics.

[mm-video type=video id=01fbrncb5phb47rzrnz8 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbrncb5phb47rzrnz8/01fbrncb5phb47rzrnz8-d3b4a4b3025a4f448d03f7450d0ab396.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=1058291]

Caeleb Dressel was overcome with emotion after winning gold in the 100 freestyle with an Olympic record

Caeleb Dressel set an Olympic record against the fastest field in history.

With an explosive start off the blocks, American sprinter Caeleb Dressel jumped out to an early lead and held on tight to win gold in the men’s 100-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday morning in Japan (Wednesday night in the U.S.).

Dressel’s gold medal-winning swim of 47.02 set a new Olympic record, as he out-touched Australia’s Kyle Chalmers by just .06 seconds in what was the fastest 100 free Olympic field ever, as NBC noted. Chalmers won silver with a time of 47.08 and Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov won bronze at 47.44.

After winning his first individual medal of the Tokyo Games, Dressel was overcome with emotion as he sat on the lane marker and celebrated his victory.

And when Dressel headed over to his on-deck interview with NBC, he appeared to tear up talking about the challenges he faced with the postponed Olympics and how hard the last year was for him. He also noted how much he was hurting after that race.

And when he got to briefly talk with his family in the U.S., he broke down and didn’t hold back his tears.

This was Dressel’s second gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics after he was part of the winning 4×100-meter freestyle relay team. It’s his fourth Olympic gold medal overall after also being on the winning 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relays at the 2016 Rio Games.

But in Rio, Dressel placed sixth in the 100 free, so this is his first individual Olympic medal. He’ll also swim the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly at these Games, in addition to relays.

Here’s his family’s reaction to his gold medal-winning swim:

The world record in the men’s 100 free is held by Cesar Cielo at 46.91 from 2009, but Dressel broke Australia’s Eamon Sullivan’s 2008 Olympic record of 47.05.

[mm-video type=video id=01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm playlist_id=01fb9s4k51ngtccr6s player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm-168dcaab44245738d42ee05a4283d98e.jpg]

[listicle id=1051685]

[listicle id=1049842]

Team USA’s Bobby Finke pulled off a jaw-dropping comeback to win first-ever men’s 800m freestyle Olympic gold

A wild comeback.

Team USA swimmer Bobby Finke had the race — and finish — of a lifetime Thursday morning at the Tokyo Olympics (Wednesday night in the U.S.). And the first-time Olympian pulled off a truly stunning comeback to win gold in the first-ever men’s 800-meter freestyle.

In the new event added to the Olympic lineup this year — along with the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle — 21-year-old Finke didn’t look to be in contention for a medal for most of the race.

In fact, he was fifth going into the final 100 meters, and as he and the field approached their final flip turn, Finke was still almost half a body length behind the race leaders. Coming off the final turn in fourth, Finke trailed Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuck.

But then Finke turned on the jets and absolutely crushed his final 50, and it’s amazing he even had that much energy left after the first 750 meters. His last 50 split was 26.39, which is extremely fast at the end of this distance race.

Look at this jaw-dropping finish at the end of his comeback:

With only 25 meters left, Finke was dead even with the leaders and cruised ahead of them to win the first-ever men’s 800 free Olympic gold.

He finished with a time of 7:41.87 — out-touching silver medalist Paltrinieri by just .24 seconds, while Romanchuck won bronze.

Finke’s incredible gold-medal finish even caught the attention of his teammate, Caeleb Dressel, who stopped in the warm-up pool to watch his fellow Florida Gator win it all:

What a great swim for Finke in his Olympic debut.

[mm-video type=video id=01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm playlist_id=01fb9s4k51ngtccr6s player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm/01fbhyrmj5vq0rea71tm-168dcaab44245738d42ee05a4283d98e.jpg]

[listicle id=1043695]

[vertical-gallery id=1057071]

WATCH: USA Basketball men’s 5×5 120 – 66 blowout of Iran highlights

It’s looking like the U.S. team is back on track. Can they stay there, though?

The USA men’s 5-on-5 Olympic basketball team (now 1 – 1) got back in the win column and then some with a 120 – 66 demolition of Iran (0 – 2) in the preliminary round of play for Group A in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics early Wednesday morning on the East Coast of the United States.

The US was led by Portland Trail Blazer star Damian Lillard (21 points, 5 assists), Phoenix Suns standout Devin Booker (16 points, 4 rebounds), Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum (14 points, 4 boards), and the San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson (13 points, 8 assists).

If the 12:40 a.m. ET tip was too early (or late) for you to watch, don’t worry — we have all the highlights from the big win for your viewing pleasure in the clip embedded below, courtesy of YouTubers Core Highlights TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIOd3yEetpQ

Watch it to see all of the best moments from the US victory over Iran, hopefully a sign of things to come in medal play.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[lawrence-related id=54844,54842,54839,54830]

[mm-video type=video id=01fbqc7sqswd9z8fty4m playlist_id=01eqbzegwgnrje4tv2 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fbqc7sqswd9z8fty4m/01fbqc7sqswd9z8fty4m-2db0e98161f606b3d93a335e0472067a.jpg]

[listicle id=54835]