American Swimmers Unite for Patriotic Moment After Winning Gold and Silver
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
America won in the pool. And it won again on the medal stand.
Torri Huske, who missed a medal at the Tokyo Olympics by .01 seconds, won the 100-meter women’s butterfly on July 28, then showed the world what world-class really means, according to Sports Illustrated.
Huske brought teammate and silver medalist Gretchen Walsh, who finished .04 seconds behind Huske, to the top step of the podium for the national anthem.
Video posted to X showed Huske, at first still reeling from the emotional aspects of her win, join in the anthem as she drank in that she had won a gold medal, a smile growing as the anthem neared its close. Walsh also sang as the “Star Spangled Banner” progressed.
This is what it’s about! 👏
After winning Olympic gold in the women’s 100m fly, Torri Huske invited her teammate Gretchen Walsh, who got silver, on top of the podium for the U.S. national anthem. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/HVfqznWjp7
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2024
“This is what it’s about!” the official NBC Olympics & Paralympics X account noted of the celebration.
After the ceremony, Huske and Walsh draped themselves in an American flag and walked around the pool in celebration.
Huske and Walsh are the first American women to win a gold and silver in that event since 1964, when the winners were Mary Meagher and Jenna Johnson, according to Team USA.
“Honestly I don’t remember my race that much. My first 50 felt really good, and then I’ve been working on my second 50 a lot, especially after last year,” Huske said. “I had kind of a weak finish, and I kind of died in my race. And last Olympics, also, I lost it all in the last 50.”
THE AMERICANS FINISH 1-2. 🇺🇸
Torri Huske wins gold and Gretchen Walsh grabs silver in the women’s 100m fly. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wFPQUF5ARC
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
“You never really know for sure, and I first saw the light by the block, and seeing that it was just very surreal. I didn’t even know how to process it,” Huske said. “It’s just very overwhelming when you’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long.”
Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei, who was among the athletes tinged by a doping scandal after competing in Tokyo despite the presence of a banned substance, finished third.
Huske said her 2021 loss was both devastating and motivating.
“I don’t know why, but I think I was a little bit naive last time going into it,” she said of her first Olympics.
“Like: ‘I’m on Team USA; Team USA always medals. I will get a medal. I will get my hand on that wall, and I will be on that podium.’ It’s a lot tougher than that,” she said, according to The Washington Post.
Huske, 21, is a native of Arlington, Virginia.
“I felt like I was hyperventilating a little bit maybe,” Huske said of the race.
“I felt like my body had a reaction. I couldn’t control anything that was going on it. It was all happening so fast,” she added.
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