The Week That Was: Cunha, Wellbrock Win Olympic Gold in Open Water

Among the top performances from the two meets, Trenton Julian recorded the country’s top time in the men’s 200 butterfly (1:54.71) while also picking up wins in the 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 IM. Another highlight from the Irvine meet was 14-year-old Teagan O’Dell winning four races and breaking Missy Franklin’s 13-14 National Age Group record in the 200 IM while coming close to NAG marks in the 100 back and 200 back. In Greensboro, Charlie Swanson, Sam Stewart, Ali and Gabby DeLoof and Charlie Clark each posted some solid performances, and 14-year-old Alex Shackell won the 100 butterfly in 59.61, edging out a swimmer (Leah Gingrich) more than twice her age.

Greensboro recaps: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five (Results)
Irvine recaps: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five (Results)

The Week That Was #3: U.S. Women’s Water Polo Captures Fourth Straight Olympic Gold

U.S. women’s water polo goalie Ashleigh Johnson makes one of her 11 saves in the gold-medal match against Spain; Photo Courtesy: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

By Matthew De George

For the briefest of moments, the U.S. women’s water polo team looked vulnerable Saturday. In the gold medal game, against the heavy underdog Spain, the U.S. saw an early lead challenged by an even second quarter. Then Ashleigh Johnson and company did what the U.S. does better than any water polo team in the world. Johnson was a brick wall in an outstanding performance, and the U.S. used that platform to run away from Spain with five unanswered goals in the third quarter en route to a 14-5 win in the gold-medal match of the Tokyo Olympics.

It’s the team’s third straight gold medal, a streak that stretches back to London, again defeating Spain in the gold-medal match. The U.S. won silver in Beijing in 2008. It’s a third straight gold for Melissa Seidemann and Maggie Steffens. Maddie Musselman, Rachel Fattal, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Johnson, Aria Fischer and Makenzie Fischer all have won their second consecutive gold.

The Spanish team would’ve sensed some opportunity in the U.S., with the Americans having dropped a group-stage game to Hungary to end a win streak dating back to the Beijing Olympics. But that vulnerability proved illusory, with a gold-medal score near that of the Rio triumph over Italy (12-5). The emotional celebration that followed illustrated that nothing was taken for granted, even from America’s golden generation of polo players.

#4: China Dominant in Diving in Tokyo

China’s Yuan Cao, the Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 10-meter platform — Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports

As they often do, the Chinese team dominated the diving events at the Tokyo Olympics. After Great Britain’s Tom Daley and Matty Lee broke up the stranglehold by winnind gold in synchro platform diving, China responsed by going 1-2 in all four single-athlete diving events during week two of the Games. For the women, Shi Tingmao and Wang Han topped the podium in 3-meter springboard, and on the 10m platform, it was 14-year-old Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi winning and placing second, respectively.

For the Chinese men, Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuzan won gold and silver in the 3-meter springboard, and platform diving wtnt to the duo of Cao Yuan (gold) and Yang Jian. For the Americans, after a pair of medals in the men’s 3-meter synchro events and the women’s platform synchro, the only medal in an individual diving event was Krysta Palmer’s bronze in the women’s 3-meter event. In women’s platform, Delaney Schnell finished fifth for the U.S., and on the men’s side, Andrew Capobianco was 10th in 3-meter and then Jordan Windle and Brandon Loschiavo placed ninth and 11th, respectivey on men’s platform.

The Week That Was #5: Swimmers Brooke Forde and Nick Albiero Earn CoSIDA Academic All-America Top Honors

Brooke Forde — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

This week, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) released its Academic All-America teams, and leading the way on both teams was a swimmer, Stanford’s Brooke Forde and Louisville’s Nick Albiero. Both swimmers won an individual NCAA title this year as seniors, but both are returning for a fifth year at their respective universities. And coincidentally, both swimmers are natives of Louisville, Ky.

Forde was the NCAA champion this year in the 400 IM after previously leading the country in 500 freestyle as a sophomore in 2019. She went on to finish sixth in the 200 freestyle at Olympic Trials this year to qualify for her first Olympic team, and she anchored the U.S. women’s 800 free relay in prelims, earning a silver medal for her efforts. Albiero won the 200 butterfly NCAA title in a tight duel with Cal’s Trenton Julian, and Albiero went on to finish fourth in the 200 fly at Olympic Trials.