Kate Douglass swims to gold in 200m breaststroke
A versatile swimmer, Douglass is a statistics major who competes in many events.
Douglass's win is the fourth gold for US swimmers, who trail Australia 5-4 for golds in the pool.
NANTERRE, France - Kate Douglass was aiming for a best time, like most swimmers going into a race, especially an Olympic one.
But the 19-year-old from Virginia Beach, Virginia, did a little bit better than that.
The American won the women's 200-meter breaststroke in an Olympic-record time of 2 minutes, 19.92 seconds Thursday night at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
It was the fourth gold medal for the United States in the pool, and it moved the Americans within one of Australia for the lead in the gold-medal race.
Douglass's victory was a bit of a surprise. She was seeded fifth coming into the final, but she swam a personal best in the semifinals to qualify second.
In the final, Douglass was in third place at the halfway point, but she made up ground on the back half of the race and surged ahead of Australia's Jenna Strauch and Japan's Reona Aoki to win the gold.
"I'm just so happy," Douglass said. "I didn't know what to expect coming into this race. I just wanted to swim my best and see what happened."
Douglass's win is a great story for the United States, which has been struggling in the pool in recent years. The Americans have not won a men's swimming gold medal since 2008, and they have not won a women's swimming gold medal since 2012.
But Douglass's victory shows that the United States is starting to turn things around. She is a young swimmer with a bright future, and she could be a key part of the American team for years to come.
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