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Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world/updated/:
● Diving ● The men’s 3 m Springboard and women’s 10 m Platform concluded the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, proving once again that nothing is sure in an all-or-nothing trials format.
Tyler Downs, 18, won the men’s 3 m final, scoring 1,333.75 and moving up from 2019 U.S. Junior Champion to 2021 Olympian. Downs was only a quarterfinalist at the 2019 senior Nationals, but finished ahead of Andrew Capobianco (1,319.40) as well as David Boudia, the two-time Olympic Platform medalist in 2012 (gold) and 2016 (bronze), who scored 1,314.95 for third and will not go to Tokyo. Michael Hixon, the 2016 3 m Synchro silver medalist, was fourth with 1,309.65.
Capobianco and Hixon were already on the team via their win in the 3 m Synchro event. Downs is a first-time Olympian and was fifth in the Trials 10 m Platform final.
The women’s 10 m Platform final came down to the fifth and final round with Delaney Schnell – already on the team from her 10 m Synchro win with Jessica Parratto – and Murphy Bromberg battling for the lead, with Schnell at 945.10 and Bromberg at 938.55, trailed by Katrina Young at 911.10.
Schnell stayed strong and extended her lead in the final round, finishing at 1,021.90, but Young scored 73.60 on a back 2 1/2 somersault with 1 1/2 twists to just 43.20 for Bromberg on the same dive. That put Young into second and onto the Olympic team, scoring 984.70 to 981.75 for Bromberg. Parratto finished fourth with 973.75.
Laura Wilkinson, the 2000 Olympic Champion in Platform and 2005 World Champion, now 43, finished a creditable 10th in the final (804.30) after returning to competition in 2017 to try for her fourth Olympic team.
● Football ● /updated/The U.S. Women’s National Team continued tuning up for Tokyo against Jamaica on Sunday evening at the BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas with a decisive 4-0 win.
The American squad scored in just 24 seconds, with Rose Lavelle sending a cross to captain Carli Lloyd at the far post, who popped it in for a 1-0 lead. It was Lloyd’s 125th career goal for the U.S., now 38 and looking for another Olympic medal chance in Tokyo.
The U.S. got another goal in the seventh minute on a penalty by Lindsey Horan, after a foul in the box against Christina Press. Fifteen minutes later, Press sent a cross from left to right toward the far post, right to the feet of Midge Purce, who scored easily for 3-0 lead. The half ended at 3-0 with the U.S. holding 67% of the possession and ahead by 9-1 on shots.
The U.S. substituted liberally in the second half, but didn’t get a fourth goal until stoppage time when Sam Mewis sent a cross to the head of Alex Morgan, who scored her 110th goal for the national team. Adrianna Franch got the shutout for the U.S., which ended with 73% possession and a 19-3 edge in shots. The U.S. is now 23-0 all-time vs. Jamaica.
The U.S. women will finish their three-match “Summer Series” tour on Wednesday (16th) vs. Nigeria at the new Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
● Swimming ● The first night of finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha produced two American Records and a flurry of fast times and a new world leader in the women’s 400 m Medley. The records:
● Men/100 m Breast: 58.19, Michael Andrew in the heats (old: 58.64, Kevin Cordes, 2017)
● Men/100 m Breast: 58.14, Andrew in the semifinals
● Women/100 m Fly: 55.78, Torri Huske in the semifinals (old: 55.98, Dana Vollmer, 2012)
Andrew, who turned professional at age 14 and is now 22, moved to no. 3 all-time and no. 3 on the 2021 year list behind Olympic Champion Adam Peaty (GBR: 56.88 in 2019 and 57.39 this year) and Dutch star Arno Kamminga (57.90 in 2021). Nic Fink was second to Andrew in 58.50, now no. 6 on the 2021 world list. The final is tomorrow.
Huske shattered her prior best of 56.69 from earlier this year and is now no. 2 for 2021 and the no. 3 performer in history behind only Sarah Sjostrom (SWE: 55.48 ‘16) and Yufei Zhang (CHN: 55.62 ‘20). Zhang is the year leader at 55.73. The final is on Monday.
The finals weren’t bad either:
● In the men’s 400 m Medley, Carson Foster claimed the fastest qualifying time at 4:10.50, trailed by 2017 World Champion Chase Kalisz. In the final, Foster led early, but Kalisz took over after the Breaststroke leg and built his final edge on the final (Freestyle) leg. Jay Litherland had to come from third to pass Foster only on the final lap, making it to Tokyo by just 0.53 seconds in 4:10.33.
Kalisz’s winning time of 4:09.09 moves him to no. 2 on the 2021 world list, just 0.07 behind Japan’s Daiya Seto. However, it’s well behind Kalisz’s lifetime best of 4:05.90 – no. 3 all-time – from the 2017 World Championships. Kalisz and Litherland represented the U.S. in this event at Rio in 2016.
● The men’s 400 m Free has not been a strong event for the U.S. in 2021, with Kiernan Smith the fastest coming in at 3:47.71, no. 27 in the world. Smith led the qualifying, then won going away in 3:44.86, moving to equal-8th in 2021 among eligible swimmers for Tokyo. Jake Mitchell finished second in 3:48.17.
● The women’s 400 m Medley again saw the qualifying leader – Hali Flickinger – fade in the final, but she held on to get a ticket to Tokyo. She led for the first 300 m of the final, but was passed going into the final lap by Melanie Margalis, a Rio Olympic relay gold medalist and no. 3 on the world list for 2021. But Emma Weyant, 19, had the fastest lap coming home at 30.35 and moved from third to first, touching in a world-leading 4:33.81!
Flickinger stayed in second, finishing in 4:33.96 (no. 2 in 2021) with Margalis fading to third in 4:34.08, still faster than any swimmer from any other country. That was also true for Leah Smith in fourth (4:34.55).
The U.S. Trials continue though next Sunday.
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