advertisement

American swimmers grabbed plenty of hardware Monday at the Olympics, but no gold

NANTERRE, France — The American swimmers collected plenty of hardware Monday night at the Olympic pool.

Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant stood side by side on the Paris podium. Ryan Murphy picked up the seventh medal of his illustrious career. Luke Hobson earned his first in a stirring race.

But none of them were gold.

In a way, it felt like a changing of the guard, especially when Murphy could only manage a bronze and longtime breaststroke stalwart Lilly King was edged out of a medal by a mere hundredth of a second.

“We have a lot of people who have been doing this for a long time, the absolute legends of the sport,” Murphy said. “All the young people that are winning would say they look up to them.”

Grimes and Weyant could celebrate knowing nobody was going to catch 17-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh in her dominant 400-meter individual medley victory.

“Just so happy to be back on the podium, it's been kind of a long three years for me,” Weyant said. “So just getting back up there with a teammate means the world.”

McIntosh touched in 4 minutes, 27.71 seconds to capture Olympic gold in commanding fashion. Grimes finished second in 4:33.40 for silver and Weyant earned bronze with a 4:33.93.

For Weyant, this was a comeback of sorts on the biggest stage. She was disqualified in the prelims at the U.S. national championships last summer for doing a dolphin kick during the breaststroke leg.

“This is kind of like a redemption year, that's been my mindset the whole year,” Weyant said. “Getting that out of my head definitely was not at the forefront but definitely putting in the work to get back to where I need to be.”

Murphy and Hobson each take home bronze medals

Former world record-holder Murphy earned his bronze in the 100 backstroke, while Hobson earned one of his own in the 200 freestyle.

“I feel great. I couldn’t be happier,” said Hobson, a University of Texas swimmer competing in his first Olympics. “It was a really close race and I gave it everything I had in the last 50 meters.”

Murphy, who owns the Olympic record of 51.85 in the 100 back set in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago, touched in 52.39 in a thrilling duel among the medalists. Thomas Ceccon of Italy won gold in 52.00, ahead of China's Xu Jiayu (52.32).

The sting of finishing third was eased quite a bit when his wife held up a sign that said, “It's a girl,” revealing the gender of the couple's expectant child.

Lilly King barely misses out on bronze medal

Lilly King just missed the podium in 100 breaststroke in yet another close finish at these Games.

Only one-hundredth of a second separated bronze medalist Mona McSharry of Ireland and the fourth-place tie between King and Italy's Benedetta Pilato in 1:05.60.

South Africa's Tatjana Smith claimed the gold.

King has been one of America's biggest stars at the last two Olympics, claiming two golds and five medals overall, and she's nearly as well known for her outspoken views on swimmers who test positive for banned substances.

After getting engaged at the U.S. trials, she's already announced this will be her final Olympics.

Luke Hobson, of the United States, prepares for his men's 200-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Katie Grimes, left, of the United States embraces compatriot Emma Weyant, after the women's 400-meter individual medley final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Gold medalist, Summer McIntosh, of Canada, stands with silver medalist, Katie Grimes, of the United States, left, and bronze medalist Emma Weyant, of the United States, on the podium after the women's 400-meter individual medley final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. . (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Gold medalist David Popovici, centre, of Romania, stands with silver medalist Matthew Richards, left, of Britain and bronze medalist Luke Hobson, of the United States following the men's 200-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Gold medalist Thomas Ceccon, of Italy, stands on the podium with silver medalist Xu Jiayu, left, of China, and bronze medalist Ryan Murphy, right, of the United States, for a selfie following the men's 100-meter backstroke final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Ryan Murphy, of the United States, arrives for the men's 100-meter backstroke final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
FILE — Ryan Murphy reacts after winning the Men's 100 backstroke finals, June 17, 2024, at the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.