Spain settled for silver and Hungary took bronze with a gritty 11-9 win over the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team.
The U.S., champions at London 2012 and Rio 2016, completed their “three-peat” with characteristic ruthlessness, blowing away the Spanish team, who had arrived in Tokyo as European champions.
Ashleigh Johnson (center) celebrates with Team USA coaches and teammates after winning gold during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre in Tokyo on August 7, 2021. Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
Coach Adam Krikorian and his assistants dived into the pool with the players in scenes of joy and wild celebration after the U.S. closed out the win at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre.
“No matter how much success they have, they’re unwavering in their approach,” Krikorian told reporters.
“We’ve talked a lot about the fine line between confidence and complacency but we’ve just done a fantastic job of staying focused through this process.”
The U.S. are the first women’s water polo team to win three successive Olympic gold medals, a feat only achieved by the British and Hungarian men’s teams before.
Madeline Musselman top-scored with three goals in the final, while captain Maggie Steffens got one, extending her record as the all-time leading scorer at the Olympics to 56 goals.
Korda gives US a golf sweep
Nelly Korda won the gold medal at the Olympic women’s golf on Saturday with a tense one-stroke victory to complete a United States sweep and secure another glittering prize for a royal family of sport.
Japan’s Mone Inami took the silver in a playoff with New Zealand’s bronze medalist Lydia Ko, the home favorite bringing her proud coach to tears at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
But there was no fairytale finish for India’s world number 200 Aditi Ashok, who was second after the third round but ended a heart-breaking fourth having raised her country’s medal hopes.
Nelly Korda reacts after teeing off on the thirteenth hole during the final round of the women’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo on August 7, 2021. Michael Madrid / USA TODAY Sports
Korda’s gold, six days after compatriot Xander Schauffele won the men’s event, gave her family another precious heirloom to rival father Petr’s Australian Open tennis trophy.
Korda’s older sister Jessica, who finished tied for 15th, did a little dance before hugging 23-year-old Nelly on the green as their U.S. teammates cheered.
The Korda family can look forward to plenty more sporting success, with Jessica a six-times winner on the LPGA Tour in her own right and younger brother Sebastian a title-winner on the ATP tennis tour at the age of 21.
Newbie Seidel earns bronze in marathon
Molly Seidel may have been competing in just her third marathon but the American relished the role of disruptor as she ran alongside the sport’s elite and took bronze in the Olympic women’s event on Saturday.
Molly Seidel runs in the women’s marathon during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Sapporo Odori Park in Sapporo, Japan on August 7, 20201. Feline Lim / Reuters
Seidel, who switched from shorter distances and debuted at the U.S. trials in Atlanta last year, had not made any prediction lists in a field led by heavyweights like Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich, the world champion.
“I was really trying to keep an open mind. I had the same goal that I had going into the U.S. trials of just, stick my nose in it, don’t be afraid if you’re up in the front,” Seidel said. “I think my goal today was just go in and have all of these experienced marathoners be like, ‘who the hell is this girl?'”
They know who Seidel is now, after she became the third U.S. woman to get a medal in the event after gold medalist Joan Benoit in 1984 and bronze winner Deena Kastor in 2004.
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