Katie Ledecky wins another gold by anchoring a relay win.
Houston’s Adams just misses out on medal; Sugar Land’s Manuel makes 100 free final
RIO DE JANEIRO — Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal and fourth overall of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Wednesday night, tracking down Australia to anchor the United States’ 800-meter freestyle relay team to a gold medal.
Swimming with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith and Maya DiRado, Ledecky inherited a 0.89-second deficit but took the lead in her second length of the pool and steadily pulled away.
“I was prepared for any circumstance, whether we were ahead or behind,” Ledecky said.
Ledecky turned in a split of 1 minute, 53.74 seconds, which was nearly 2.5 seconds faster than her next-fastest teammate, Schmitt in 1:56.21.
Only one other swimmer in the race, Australia’s Emma McKeon, got within a second of Ledecky’s four-lap time.
The U.S. won in 7:43.03 to 7:44.87 for Australia. Canada won the bronze in 7:45.39.
Also Wednesday, Cammile Adams of Houston narrowly missed a medal in the women’s 200-meter butterfly. Racing, she said, with goggles that broke just before the race, Adams finished fourth, seven-tenths of a second behind Natsumi Hoshi of Japan.
Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain won the gold in 2:04.85, and Madeline Groves of Australia was second in 2:04.88. Hali Flickinger of York, Pa., was seventh.
Adams, though, took consolation in going under 2:06 for her only Olympic swim, finishing in 2:05.90, and in her impending return to Houston from her training base in Charlotte to get married in October and to begin student teaching at Copeland Elementary School before graduating from Texas A&M in December. “I looked at myself in the mirror (before the race) and said, ‘Cam, you are so amazing,’ ” she said. “I am so proud of who I am, and I thought that as long as I did my best, I was going to be happy.
“Yeah, I’m bummed with not getting a medal, but I think I’m more bummed that I’m not adding to the U.S. count.”
Adams said she plans to continue swimming, adding, “I’m not ready to be done. … I still like I feel I have a lot of learning to do.”
Earlier, Simone Manuel of Sugar Land won her semifinal in the 100-meter freestyle in a personal best 53.11 seconds, advancing to Thursday night’s final as the third-fastest qualifier behind Cate Campbell of Australia, who set an Olympic record of 52.71 in the second semifinal, and Penny Oleksiak, who was second to Campbell in 52.72.
“I’ve had a little bit of a slump (in the 100 free), but I’m really happy with the best time and getting into the finals,” she said. “We all did an amazing job in training camp, and having the short break (after Olympic Trials) helps you keep your momentum. We have just become a great team, and that helps you swim fast.”
In the men’s 200-meter breaststroke. Dmitriy Balandin of Kazakhstan won that country’s first swimming gold medal, tracking down Yasuhiro Koseki of Japan in the final 50 meters to win in 2:07.46. Josh Prenot, the former NCAA champion for California, won silver in 2:07.53.
Kyle Chalmers of Australia set a world junior record in winning the 100-meter freestyle in 47.58 seconds. Pieter Timmers was second, and 2012 gold medalist Nathan Adrian won the bronze.
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte qualified for Thursday’s 200-meter individual medley, with Phelps winning their semifinal in 1:55.78 to Lochte’s 1:56.28.