100-meter butterfly
- July 28, 2024, 4:12 p.m. ET
The gold medal that Torri Huske of the United States won on Sunday in the 100-meter butterfly barely eluded her three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, a letdown that might not have annoyed her so much had she won silver then, or even bronze.
In third place at the turn on Sunday, Huske powered to gold, edging her teammate — and world-record holder — Gretchen Walsh at the end by touching just ahead of her. In a sport defined by infinitesimal slivers of time, that brief gap is either a flash or an eternity, and often it is both.
Huske missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo by one-hundredths of a second. On Sunday, she won gold by four-hundredths. And when she realized it, she said, “Oh my God,” and went to hug Walsh in the next lane.
Zhang Yufei, one of 23 top Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug months before the Tokyo Games, won bronze. She won silver in Tokyo, nine-hundredths of a second ahead of Huske, who bested her — and everyone else — on Sunday night.
Gold |
Torri Huske United States |
Silver |
Gretchen Walsh United States |
Bronze |
Zhang Yufei China |
Ben Shpigel is a senior editor on The Times’s Live team, coordinating with desks across the newsroom to provide editing and reporting support on fast-paced breaking news in real time. More about Ben Shpigel
James Hill is a photographer working on a regular basis for The Times since 1993. He is currently based in Paris. More about James Hill