Olympics: Allison Schmitt and Hali Flickinger picked up their second medals of the Games
University of Georgia swimming alums Allison Schmitt and Hali Flickinger each picked up their second medals of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games Wednesday evening at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Schmitt swam the leadoff leg of Team USA’s silver-medal-winning performance in the women’s 800-meter freestyle relay, opening the race with a split of 1:56.34 in her fourth career final appearance in the event. The Americans’ time set a new American record and joined gold medalist China and bronze medalist Australia in breaking the previous world record mark. With the silver, Schmitt has now won 10 career medals (four gold, three silver, three bronze), the most of any University of Georgia athlete and the fourth-most by an American female swimmer.
Flickinger won her second bronze medal of the Games with a personal-best time of 2:05.65 in the women’s 200-meter butterfly final, joining the medal she earned Saturday in the 400-meter individual medley. Flickinger remained in second place for most of the race before a late surge from American teammate Regan Smith gave her the silver medal.
With Schmitt and Flickinger’s medals, Georgia alums have won seven in Tokyo, tying the previous record mark set in Rio. Additionally, the Georgia program has now won 38 overall medals, all under the tutelage of Tom Cousins Head Coach Jack Bauerle.
In the men’s 200-meter breaststroke final, alum Nic Fink placed fifth with a time of 2:07.93, concluding a terrific Olympic debut for the Bulldog. Later in the session, fellow alum Chase Kalisz was unable to reach a second final, finishing 12th in the men’s 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:58.03. In prelims, Kalisz placed fourth with a time of 1:57.38.
Elsewhere in the morning session, incoming freshman Duné Coetzee helped South Africa set a new African record time of 8:01.56 in the 800m free relay, finishing 11th in prelims.
The Olympic swimming competition continues Thursday with the mixed 400-meter medley relay providing the only opportunity for a Georgia swimmer to potentially compete. Alum Javier Acevedo is eligible to swim for Canada on Friday morning in the men’s 400-meter medley relay.
Source: Georgia Sports Communications
Olympics: UGA’s Ellen Perez made a historic run for Australia
Former University of Georgia standout Ellen Perez made a historic run for her home country of Australia in the Olympic women’s doubles competition in Tokyo.
Paired with Sam Stosur, the duo won two matches before falling in the quarterfinals Wednesday and just missing a chance for a medal. In the first round, Perez and Stosur began with a 4-6, 6-1 [10-5] come-from-behind win over the Latvian duo Jelena Ostapenko and Ansatasija Sevastova. The Australians stormed back in a tie-break win after the Latvians took a 5-1 lead.
In the second round, they faced the Romanian team of Monica Niculescu and Raluca Olaru who had knocked out the fifth seed in their opening match. Perez and Stosur advanced after a thrilling 7-6[3], 7-5 victory over the Romanian duo. The Australians trailed 5-1 in the first set and saved seven set points before taking the first set in a tiebreaker. Then, they won another tight set at 7-5 to finish the match.
In the quarterfinals, Perez and Stosur faced a stiff test, drawing the Swiss combination of Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic. The Swiss team made headlines with an opening-round upset of the second-seed Japanese pair of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara.
Bencic and Golubic had a strong start, pushing ahead with a 5-2 lead against Perez and Stosur. The Australians fought back, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Swiss duo secured the opening set as Bencic, who is in the singles semifinals, held serve to notch the first set. The Swiss team picked up an early break in the second set and went on to register a 6-4,6-4 victory to advance to the medal round.
This was the fifth Olympic Games for the 37-year-old Stosur and the first for the 25-year-old Perez. Stosur is a former world No. 1 doubles player with six Grand Slam doubles titles while Perez won her second Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) doubles title earlier this year. Currently, Perez holds a world ranking of number 50 in doubles. She was a five-time All-American at Georgia and turned professional in 2017.
Source: Georgia Sports Communications
Today’s Photos: William Poole
2020: Saw action in six of 10 games…credited with a QB pressure in the Bulldogs’ season-opening win at Arkansas.
2019: Saw action in the Murray State, Arkansas State and Georgia Tech games and finished with three total stops.
2018: Played in eight games, starting vs. Middle Tennessee State…has 10 total stops, including four solo tackles vs. MTSU…had two solo stops in season opener vs. Austin Peay…one of his two stops at South Carolina resulted in a 4-yard loss.
2017: Saw action in five games: App. State, Notre Dame, Samford, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
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