Swimming wraps up with Dressel going for another gold medal

TOKYO (AP) — The final night of swimming gives Caeleb Dressel and four-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel more chances to collect hardware on Day 8 of the Tokyo Games.

Dressel is a gold medal favorite in the men’s 50-meter freestyle and is the two-time reigning world champion. Manuel will compete in the women’s 50-meter freestyle, which she won silver in 2016 in Rio. The U.S. is also expected to contend for the gold medal in the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relay.

Allyson Felix will attempt to pass Merlene Ottey of Jamaica as the female Olympian with the most track and field medals in the mixed 4x400 relay and the women’s 100-meter dash will be decided after a spirited day of heats.

Kevin Durant and the U.S. men’s basketball team face Czech Republic in its final game of group play.

Here are some things to watch (all times Eastern):

SWIMMING

The final day of swimming is a big one for Caeleb Dressel. He’ll go for two more gold medals in his sights in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley relay. The Americans are big favorites in both events.

Though the 50 free is always a bit of a crapshoot decided by a few hundredths of a second, Dressel has turned his brilliant underwater technique into 50 free titles at the past two world championships. The U.S. men, meanwhile, have never lost a medley relay at the Olympics.

Also keep an eye on Simone Manuel, who will swim her only individual event of these Games after failing to qualify for the American team in the 100 free, an event she won at the Rio Games. Manuel revealed at the U.S. trials that she had been diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, which forced her to halt training for nearly a month. Cate Campbell and 100 free champion Emma McKeon are also expected to be among the leading contenders in the 50 free.

The Americans also are the two-time defending Olympic champions in the women’s 4x100 medley relay, but will be challenged by an Australian women’s team that had won five gold medals as of Friday.

In the men’s 1,500 free, American Bobby Finke could take another medal after a surprising victory in the 800 free. Swimming will be the highlight of NBC’s primetime coverage that begins at 8 p.m.

TRACK & FIELD

The women’s 100-meter dash will be decided after a spirited round of early heats.

Reigning world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran her heat in the nearly empty Olympic Stadium in 10.84 seconds. Her Jamaican rival, defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, finished in 10.82.

And Marie-Josee Ta Lou, the Ivory Coast sprinter who finished an excruciating fourth in Rio de Janeiro, kept saying “Wow! Wow!” after she crossed the finish line in a blistering personal best of 10.78.

They were the fifth, sixth and seventh-fastest times of the year, produced on a day when seven of 54 sprinters hit a personal best — all in an opening round.

In the mixed 4X400 relay, a medal for the Americans would push Allyson Felix past Merlene Ottey of Jamaica as the female Olympian with the most track and field medals. She currently has 10 medals. Much of the track and field coverage will be on NBC in primetime, but select qualifying rounds will also air live in primetime on USA Network.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The U.S. men’s basketball team can secure second place in Group A and clinch a berth in the Olympic quarterfinals on Saturday when it faces the Czech Republic.

A win would also give the U.S. a chance at securing a top-four seed for the quarterfinals, which will be played in Saitama on Tuesday. Having a top-four seed is critical because it would mean that the Americans would not face any group winners in the knockout stage before the semifinals. The game will be streamed live Saturday at 8 a.m. on Peacock with encores later on both NBC and NBC Sports Network.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

The knockout round begins in beach volleyball and the top American team of April Ross and Alix Klineman made it through the preliminaries unscathed, winning all three of their matches.

That puts the Americans on the opposite side of the bracket from the overall No. 1 overall, Canada. They would not meet until the gold medal match. The elimination rounds will be on NBC in primetime.

FOR THE LATE CROWD

The elimination round of men’s beach volleyball will be aired live on NBC beginning at midnight, along with coverage of the men’s 1,500-meter free and the BMX Freestyle Finals.

The finals in men’s and women’s singles tennis will be presented on the Olympic Channel beginning at 2 a.m.

-Associated Press

After historic 7 swim golds, Dressel to wrestle with math test

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Caeleb Dressel won a historic seventh gold medal in Budapest on Sunday as the USA claimed the men’s 4x100m medley relay title at the world championships — before admitting his math test worries.

After Dressel swam the third leg, Nathan Adrian touched the wall first for the USA at three minutes, 27.91 seconds with Britain taking silver at 1.04, while Russia earned bronze at 1.45.

The 20-year-old Dressel has now matched US swimming legend Michael Phelps’ record of seven gold medals from a single worlds set at the 2007 championships in Melbourne.

“I don’t know, I’ve never had it happen so I don’t really know what to say,” said Dressel when asked how it felt to be level with Phelps.

“I’m just happy to be done.

“I’m going to take a little break, see some of my teammates in Europe, Poland, Scotland.

“The atmosphere here has been an absolute blast, I just want to enjoy myself now.”

Dressel’s seven golds included three individual titles in the 50m, 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, plus relay golds in the 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m mixed freestyle, 4x100m mixed medley and Sunday’s 4x100m medley.

He became the first swimmer to claim three world golds in one session on Saturday by winning the 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly and mixed 4x100m freestyle titles in a jaw-dropping 98-minute spell.

Dressel’s stunning display has earned comparisons with both Phelps and Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

His performances have been the icing on the cake for the USA, who finished with 38 swimming medals in Budapest — over five times more than nearest rivals Britain, who managed seven.

Dressel said he was tired after a draining 48 hours.

“I’m very happy to be done, pretty tired,” he said.

“Its been a good season, a good year, there are a lot more that goes into this than what people see in seven days.

“It’s great, I guess it was all going into here.

“I knew I had a chance in a few events and, of course, the real prize for America are the relays which are also a lot of fun.

“We didn’t do so great at the 2015 champs, so to come here and, coming off Rio, do so well — the medal table speaks for itself.”

His achievements unsurprisingly earned the University of Florida ace the award for the best male swimmer at the championships.

However, before he goes off on holiday, Dressel must sit a math test on Tuesday.

“Probably not, it’s probably going to go pretty bad,” he replied when asked if was ready for the test.

“I will probably be happy with a B-minus, that is the next goal when the meet’s over, to get over that math test.

“I’ve had a decent semester with it, it’s been all online and I am not good on online.”

Nevertheless, his exploits in Budapest have been hailed by his team-mates.

“It’s incredible, watching Caeleb is the coolest thing for me — that kid is unbelievable, how he motivates himself, watching how he keeps his composure,” said America’s Chase Kalisz, who won the 200m and 400m IM golds in Budapest.

“I’m watching how he steps on the blocks. Every single race, he is ready to race, he is ready to go.

“This is how Team USA functions, we all feed off each other’s energy.” CBB

source: sports.inquirer.net