The Medal Hunt Continues
We’re calling today the first day of track and field at these Olympic Games; in reality, this is day two, as the men’s and women’s race walks took place yesterday morning. There was no NYAC representation in those events; but, the Club’s three-time Olympian and former Board member, Curt Clausen, was out on the course in the burgeoning heat, cheering home the victors, Brian Pintado from Ecuador and Yang Jiayu from China.
Today, though, the stadium events get underway and, even with more than an hour to go before they begin, the stadium is half full…and getting noisy! If there are any French favorites competing here this evening, the roof will surely be raised…if there was a roof. Which there isn’t.
Before we get to the events in Stade de France, however, we must direct our attention to the rowing venue, where the NYAC’s Molly Reckford and her partner, Michelle Sechser, were contesting the final of the women’s lightweight double sculls. This was always going to be a hard day’s work for the US duo, facing a loaded field that included New Zealand, Romania, Great Britain, Ireland and Greece.
“We knew it was going to be hard,” commented Reckford after the race. “It’s a lightweight women’s race, so that’s never in doubt. We also knew that we had very good base speed, and we needed to stay with the pack. Strategically, we had talked about no matter what happens, stay with the pack.”
Easier said than done, of course. (Thinking about it, isn’t everything easier said than done? Except for talking; that’s pretty much the same).
The British duo took the lead from the outset, marginally ahead of Romania, retaining that advantage all the way to the finish line. Romania held on to the silver medal despite a late race surge from Greece. The Americans got off the line in sixth place, and while they were still in contention through 1000m, the second half of the race proved a struggle.
“We really gave it our all in that first 1000m to stay with the pack,” explained Reckford. “I think we did a better job with that this race than we had earlier in the regatta. But you pay for that, and it meant that we couldn’t quite get to that final gear.”
At the swimming venue, Paige Madden, a silver medalist from last night’s 4x200m FS relay, was in the pool again this morning for the heats of the 800m freestyle – she cruised through to Saturday’s final (August 3rd) – while Kate Douglass, already the owner of a gold and silver medal from these Games, made similarly short work of the heats of the 200m individual medley, reaching the finish in second place and qualifying comfortably for this evening’s semi-final. We will come back to Kate later.
Before returning to the track and field action in Stade de France, we must first visit the water polo arena which, thankfully, is just across a short bridge from the track facility. Sometimes, that is convenient; other times it’s not, all dependent, it appears, on the whim of whomever is guarding the gate. Sometimes you can do it; sometimes, you have to take the scenic route. I get it; standing in the blazing sun would mess with the mood of any self-respecting security guard. Even so, it would be nice to know up front so one might plan one’s route accordingly.
Be that as it may, as I write these words, the USA, three-time defending champions, is playing France and the place is rocking. Unlike the Stade de France, this place has got a roof, and I have definitely seen it raised more than once since I arrived. Thankfully, I’ve got ear-plugs. It barely makes much difference. The noise is like a 747 on the runway.
For French fans, sad to say, those roars of encouragement did not have the desired effect. Taking the lead from the outset, at the end of the third quarter, the score was 13-5 in favor of the US. The leaders did not show any mercy in the final round, hammering away to a final score of 17-5. In large degree, this salved the wound of the USA’s upset loss to Spain earlier in the week and set the team on a straighter course for its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. As is often mentioned (most often by me), Maggie Steffens has played on every one of those teams. Three gold medals are magnificent; but four? Oerter-esque. The USA will finish second in its group (behind Spain) and its next game will be the quarter-finals against a team still TBD next Tuesday (August 6th).
And so to the track. The NYAC has a remarkable tradition in Olympic track and field, highlighted by athletes such as Natasha Hastings, Michelle Carter, Lance Deal, Antonio McKay, Al Oerter, Eamonn Coghlan and so many more. That tradition continued in the Olympic Stadium this very evening as Valarie Allman, the defending champion in the discus, made her appearance in the qualifying rounds. It was, in fact, a very brief appearance, as the NYAC woman stepped into the circle, took one throw – a massive auto qualifier of 69.59m/228-3 (the automatic qualifying mark to reach the final was 64.00m/209-11) – and went home, job done. So, we will next see Valarie on Monday (August 5th) when she appears for the final.
While Allman excelled, the NYAC’s day in Stade de France had not begun so well. In the qualifying rounds of the men’s hammer throw, Rudy Winkler advanced comfortably to Sunday’s final (August 4th) with an auto qualifying 77.29m/253-7, good for second in his group; but, Daniel Haugh experienced the field eventer’s worst nightmare, struggling through each round and failing to register a mark. He will not remember this as his best day; hopefully, it will simply instill the belief that his best days can lie ahead.
The women’s triple jump qualifying rounds were also held this evening, featuring the NYAC’s Tori Franklin, the 2022 world championships bronze medalist, here seeking to become the first American woman ever to win an Olympic medal in this event. That eventuality will have to wait for another day as, by reaching 14.02m/46-0 on her second attempt, Franklin failed to advance to the medal round by three centimeters.
For Joe Kovacs in the shot put, things transpired more closely to plan. Kovacs is one of the greatest and most be-medaled shot putters in history, with two Olympic silver medals and four world championships medals (two golds, two silvers and a bronze). The NYAC man has contested every major championship since 2015 and never failed to win a medal. His best throw (23.23m/72-2¾) is the second farthest in history, exceeded only by the mammoth world record of 23.56m/77-3¾ by the similarly mammoth Ryan Crouser. Trouble is, Crouser is here, and, in addition to being the world record holder, he’s the two-time defending champion. So, no easy roads in this event.
The fireworks from that showdown – and there are more than just the two of them in it, don’t forget – will have to wait until the final tomorrow (Saturday, August 3rd). This evening, it was all about just making it through; which Kovacs did, though he didn’t take the auto route. In fact, the farthest of his three attempts, 21.24m/69-8¼, was the farthest non-auto qualifier, leaving him in seventh position, though still easily advancing to the medal round. (They take the top 12). Notably, Crouser took just one attempt and scored an auto-qualifying, 21.49m/70-6¼ (the standard was 21.35m/70-0½). There were three people ahead of him, led by Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri with a large 21.76m/71-4¾. But, the slates are all wiped clean tomorrow and everybody starts from scratch. That’s when it gets interesting.
The only other NYAC athlete on the track this evening – in reality, all day long – was decathlete Harrison Williams, who began his day by blasting through a 10.62 second 100m, then long jumping 7.42m/24-4¼, putting the shot 15.66m/51-4½, high jumping 1.96m/6-5, then hammering out a 46.71 second 400m. All in a day’s work that left him in eighth position overall, the top American and 218 points down on leader, Leo Neugebauer from Germany. Tomorrow, Williams and his colleagues will take on the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and, the one they all hate, the 1500m. At the end of that one, they all fall down, the winner becomes known, then they all get up, and the whole field, in this instance all 22 of them, takes a lap of honor. It’s one of the coolest things you’ll ever see in track and field.
The final NYAC athlete competing this evening was the aforementioned Kate Douglass, in the 200m individual medley semi-finals. Every expectation was that Douglass would advance without issue, that being precisely what she did. Always in the mix, she placed third, doing precisely what was necessary to claim her lane in tomorrow’s final (Saturday, August 3rd). There, she will chase her third medal of these Games. And, to think, it all started in the pool at Travers Island. (Note to NYAC members: sign your children up for the swimming lessons today!).
Tomorrow is going to be another day of intense competition for the NYAC: Douglass in the 200IM final; Paige Madden in the 800m freestyle final; Kovacs in the shot put final; the men’s and women’s eight finals in rowing; Omari Jones in the boxing quarter-finals. There’s more; those are just a few highlights. A journo friend of mine that I encountered this evening, unnamed from an unnamed European nation, was speaking with me of how proud he is that his country has claimed four medals, with the hope of a couple more. I agreed, sincerely, that this was exceptional. But, in my mind, I was thinking, “Dude, you’ve got no idea. Have you heard of the New York Athletic Club? (With all due respect).”