Saturday was a mixed day of results for USA swimming at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The United States couldn’t claim gold in four finals but did come away with medals in three of those finals — an excellent result hampered only by high expectations.
Here’s what happened.
Men’s 400m Individual Medley
Chase Kalisz finished first in a qualifying heat earlier Saturday, and although he swam faster in the final, it didn’t result in victory. Kalisz finished in 4:06.75 (he swam the heat in 4:08.12) and lost by .70 seconds to Japan’s Kosuke Hagino to claim silver.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGKmx5g7BDw&w=640&h=360]
Men’s 400m Freestyle
Conor Dwyer and Connor Jaeger were the two finalists for Team USA, but neither was able to medal in the final. It was a bit of a shock for Dwyer, who won his qualifying heat at 3:43.42 earlier in the day. He finished fourth in 3:44.01, while Jaeger finished fifth in 3:44.16.
Australia’s Mack Horton took home the gold in 3:41.55. Dwyer’s qualifying time would have earned him a bronze medal in the final.
Women’s 400m Freestyle
Katinka Hosszu, known as “The Iron Woman” in the swimming community, destroyed the competition and smashed the world record in the process, finishing in 4:26.36. But USA’s Maya DiRado took home the silver medal by a considerable margin, too, swimming the race in 4:31.15, more than 1 second ahead of bronze medalist Mireia Belmonte of Spain.
Three-time USA Olympian Elizabeth Beisel, who’s from Rhode Island, finished sixth in 4:34.98.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHpT_P8aRYk&w=640&h=360]
Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
The United States women put on an excellent show but just missed out on a gold medal, finishing second to favorite Australia, which finished in 3:30.65. The team of Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, Dana Vollmer and Katie Ledecky set an American record with their time of 3:31.89 and walked away with silver medals.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYH8nb6p0w&w=640&h=360]
Other
Vollmer qualified for the women’s 100m butterfly final, as did Cody Miller and Kevin Cordes in the men’s 100m final.
Thumbnail photo via Erich Schlegel/USA TODAY Sports Images
