Local Olympians put on a show in Tokyo

From Katie Ledecky’s dominance in the 1,500-meter freestyle to Kevin Durant’s team-high 29 point performance in the men’s basketball gold medal game, local athletes put on a show in Tokyo. 

The D.C. area had more than 20 athletes participating in the games and here’s how they performed on the world stage:

Boxing

Troy Isley, an Alexandria, Virginia, native split his bouts in the ring in Tokyo, losing in the Round of 16. 

Isley beat Belarus’ Vitali Bandarenka by a unanimous decision in his first round match, earning his first-career Olympic victory. Three days later, the T.C. Williams High School graduate lost to the Russian Olympic Committee’s Gleb Bakshi, the AIBA World Champion, in a disputed split decision. 

On two cards, Isley was deemed the winner 29-28 and 29-28, but those were trumped by three cards that sided with Bakshi: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. 

Basketball

The U.S men’s basketball team won gold over France in an 87-82 victory on Friday, the team’s fourth-straight Olympics finishing on top. 

Durant, a Prince George’s County, Maryland, native led the team with 29 points and six rebounds in the championship game. He finished the tournament averaging 19 points and 5.2 rebounds en route to his third-straight gold medal. 

Durant wasn’t the only player on the team with ties to Maryland, as Bowie’s Jerami Grant also suited up for the red, white and blue. 

Grant appeared in four of the team’s five games in Tokyo, recording four points and five rebounds in the tournament.

Fencing

Katharine Holmes, a District native competed in the Epee fencing team event and the U.S. finished fifth out of eight teams.

“You’re representing Team USA and not giving up is part of the testament of this being the Olympic Games,” Holmes told U.S. fencing. “It’s not just about winning, but being that Olympic athlete. You always want to try your best and show what you can do. That’s part of it and even if you’re not winning a medal, just being the best you can be.”

The team lost its opening match to Korea, the eventual silver medalist, 38-33, before beating Hong Kong 42-31 in its second match. 

In the fifth place match, the U.S. beat Poland 33-26 to claim the position. 

Rowing 

Claire Collins, a McLean, Virginia, native helped the women’s four win the B final, landing the squad in seventh-place overall. 

Sailing

In her second Olympics, Farrah Hall finished 15th overall in RS:X windsurfing. This year’s games marked the final Olympics for the Annapolis, Maryland, native, who finished 20th in her debut at the 2012 games in London.

Shooting

After a 21st-place finish at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Lucas Kozeniesky rebounded in Tokyo, finishing sixth in the men’s 10-meter air rifle. 

The Fairfax, Virginia, native had the second-highest finish of an American with 165 points, as Will Shaner set an Olympic record to win gold with a score of 251.6 points. 

Kozeniesky teamed up with Mary Tucker in the air rifle mixed team event and the duo won silver in Tokyo, falling to China 17-13 in the finals.

Swimming

Historically, the U.S. swim team dominates in the pool and this year wasn’t any different as the Americans walked away with 30 medals, including seven from local athletes. 

Ledecky, a Bethesda, Maryland, native led the U.S. women with four medals — two gold and two silver. She won the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events, while finishing second in the 200-meter freestyle and the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. 

In his second Olympics, Chase Kalisz, a Bel Air, Maryland, native walked away with his first-career gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley, winning by just under a second. 

Torri Huske, an Arlington, Virginia, native swam in three events in Tokyo, earning a silver medal. The 18-year-old swam the butterfly leg of the women’s 4x100-meter medley relay, which won silver, trailing Australia by .13 seconds. 

The Stanford signee missed out on her only individual medal opportunity in the 100-meter butterfly finishing in fourth. Huske was only .01 of a second slower than third place. 

Huske wasn’t the only 18-year-old from the area that swam in Tokyo, as Phoebe Bacon of Chevy Chase, Maryland, competed in the 200-meter backstroke. Bacon, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, finished fifth. 

Andrew Wilson, a Bethesda, Maryland, native swam in the preliminary heat of the 4x100-meter medley relay, qualifying for the final. Although he didn’t swim in the final, the U.S. won gold in a world record time in the event. He also placed sixth in the 100-meter breaststroke and swam the 200 breast, though he did not make the final. He also swam breaststroke in a preliminary heat of the 4x100 mixed medley relay, a new Olympic event. The team finished fifth in the final.

Andrew Seliskar, a graduate of Fairfax’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, was on the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team that qualified for the final. He didn’t swim in the medal event, but he opened the relay in the preliminary heat. 

Tennis

In his Olympic debut, Frances Tiafoe made it to the second round of the tennis tournament before being eliminated by world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. 

Tiafoe, a Hyattsville, Maryland, native beat Kwon Soon-woo in his opening match in two sets before losing to Tsitsipas. He also played in doubles in Tokyo, again falling in his second match with Rajeev Ram to Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic. 

Track and field

Trevor Stewart will return from Tokyo with two medals in his carry-on — a gold and a bronze. 

The Lorton, Virginia, native helped propel the 4x400-meter relay team out of the preliminary heat and into the final, where they won gold. He also was a part of the first-ever mixed 4x400-meter relay and the U.S. won bronze in the event.

Noah Lyles, the favorite to win the 200-meter dash, won a bronze medal in the event in Tokyo. The Alexandria, Virginia, native was a part of the U.S. 2-3-4 finish in the event, as Kenny Bednarek won silver and Erriyon Knighton finished just off the podium. 

Matthew Centrowitz, the defending Olympic champion, failed to qualify for the 1.500-meter final in Tokyo. The Arnold, Maryland native ran a season-best 3:33.69, but finished ninth in his preliminary heat. 

Christina Clemons, a Waldorf, Maryland, native advanced to the semifinal heat in the 100-meter hurdles, but finished fourth, missing the final. 

Triathlon

After becoming the youngest woman to represent the U.S. at the Olympics in triathlon, Taylor Knibb had a solid showing with a time of 2:00:59, finishing 16th of 54 athletes in the event. 

She did return from Tokyo with a medal, however, helping the mixed triathlon relay to a silver medal finish, trailing only Great Britain. 

Wrestling

The defending gold medalist, Kyle Snyder, failed to repeat in freestyle wrestling, falling to the Russian Olympic Committee’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev in the final. The silver is the Woodbine, Maryland, native’s second-career Olympic medal. 

Snyder wasn’t the only wrestling medalist from Maryland, as Helen Maroulis won bronze in Tokyo. The Rockville, Maryland, native beat Mongolia’s Khongorzul Boldsaikhan for her second-career medal.