Complete Coverage of Gators at the Olympics on August 1

41 Gators representing 21 nations earned one 2024 medal (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) so far in 2024 Olympics competition.
More info on Gators in 2024 Olympicshttps://gatorsolympics.com/

PARIS, France – Thursday’s action saw those with Gator ties participating in four different Olympic events.

Golf
Alejandro Tostihttps://floridagators.com/sports/olympics/roster/alejandro-tosti/17005 and Camilo Villegashttps://floridagators.com/sports/olympics/roster/camilo-villegas/17006 teed off round one today at Le Golf National, making their Olympic debuts for Argentina and Colombia.

Through 18 holes, Tosti is tied for 14th after an opening round of 3-under 68. He made eagle on his third hole, coming at the par-5 (564 yards) third. Tosti closed his round one strong with three birdies on the back nine with consecutive on 16 and 17 after a bogey on 15. He enters round two tomorrow just five shots back of leader Hideki Matsuyama [Japan] and tees off round two tomorrow at 5:06 a.m. ET.

Villegas is tied for 59th, shooting a round one of 76 (+5). He tees off his second round at 3 a.m. ET.

Round 1 Resultshttps://www.espn.com/golf/leaderboard/_/tour/mens-olympics-golf

Swimming
After not having any Gators competing yesterday, five Gator connections competed in day six of Olympic swimming action.

Men’s 50m Freestyle Prelims:
Caeleb Dresselhttps://floridagators.com/sports/olympics/roster/caeleb-dressel/17018 and Josh Liendohttps://floridagators.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/josh-liendo/17098 will have a chance to drop time from their morning swim in the afternoon’s semifinal.

After securing The U.S.’s first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games, Dressel made his individual debut in the tenth and final heat. The defending Olympic champion tied for 13th overall after touching the wall in 21.91. Liendo [CAN] went 21.92 for third in his heat, but finished 15th to sit behind his training partner.

Representing Venezuela, Alberto Mestre’shttps://floridagators.com/sports/olympics/roster/alberto-mestre/16996 Paris Olympic journey came to an end after he clocked 22.02 in heat nine to place 21st overall. The former Gator also competed in the men’s 100m freestyle heats on Tuesday, swimming a 49.51 for 37th overall.

Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Two new additions to Florida women’s roster, incoming freshman Julie Brousseauhttps://floridagators.com/sports/womens-swimming-and-diving/roster/julie-brousseau/17150 [CAN] and graduate transfer Nicole Maierhttps://floridagators.com/sports/womens-swimming-and-diving/roster/nicole-maier/17151 [GER], made their Olympic Games debut in the final event of the morning.

Brousseau’s 1:57.93 split helped Team Canada make the top eight after recording a 7:53.03. They placed fourth in the second heat and head into the final ranked seventh.

Maier went 1:58.76 in the second leg for Germany, but fell short of an advancing spot after recording a 7:55.57 to finish 10th overall.

Men’s 50m Freestyle Semifinals:
In the men’s 50m freestyle, Dressel’s “splash and dash” was much improved from his morning time. The defending Olympic champion dropped three tenths to crash into the wall in 21.58 for second in his heat. He advances to Friday’s 2:30 PM final as the fifth seed.

Competing in the second heat, Liendo was third off the blocks from the eighth lane. He dropped two tenths off his morning time to touch the wall in 21.69. The Canadian finished ninth overall to fall just short of the advancing top-eight.

The duo will both compete in the men’s 100m butterfly prelims tomorrow at 5:00 AM.

3×3 Basketball
U.S. Women –
Australia 17, U.S. 15

Defending Olympic gold medalist U.S. split in its two games Thursday.

The U.S. opened the day with a 17-15 loss to Australia.

UF Assistant Coach Rhyne Howard provided more than half of the U.S. scoring, hitting four two-pointers. With 2:30 left, the game was tied at 12. Australia hit three consecutive shots before Howard shaved their lead down to one with her final two-point shot.

With Australia leading 16-14 in the final seconds, Howard found Dearica Hamby for a key basket. The U.S. put Australia on the line after an intentional foul. Time ended before the U.S. could get a final shot off.

Box Scorehttps://www.usab.com/boxscore/1930

U.S. 17, Spain 11
The U.S. earned its first win over Spain, 17-11, to close it Thursday play.

UF Assistant Coach Rhyne Howard’s hot shooting continued versus Spain to help give the U.S. the early jump. She also was key defensively with a loud rejection part of a lockdown USA effort.

All eight teams in the Olympic field will face each other during the five-day pool play stage. The teams with the top two records during group action automatically advance to the semifinals.

Olympic Pool Standingshttps://fiba3x3.com/2024/olympics/standings/women/pools

Next up for the U.S.
August 2 at 7 a.m. ET vs France
August 2 at noon ET vs Canada

U.S. Men
Lithuania 20, U.S. 18
U.S. dropped both games by two points in each of Thursday’s action.

Game 1 was a 20-18 loss to Lithuania.

Gator grad Canyon Barry led the U.S., scoring half of its points off seven shots and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

The U.S.’s biggest lead of 10-6 came off Kareem Maddox’s two consecutive shots. Two consecutive Lithuania two-point shots evened the score. From that point, the game would be tied four more times before Lithuania pushed out to a 20-15 lead with 45 seconds remaining. The U.S. got a two-pointer from Dylan Travis and a Barry free throw for the game’s final margin.

Box Scorehttps://fiba3x3.com/2024/olympics/games/01a85df8-98e4-4ebc-918f-1df5d6ebd50b

Latvia 21, U.S. 19
The U.S. second game of the day was delayed due to rain. Once it began, the U.S. got off to a quick start, opening up an 11-5 lead off a Canyon Barry two-point shot. Latvia closed the gap to take a 12-11 lead. From there, the U.S. worked to open a 19-15 lead. Latvia took the final four shots of the game, scoring on each to take the 21-19 win and keep its Olympic record unblemished.

Barry again led the U.S. in scoring with 10 points off of four 2-point shots, a free throw and a basket.

Jimmer Fredette did not play Thursday due to a leg injury, requiring the three other U.S. team members – Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis – to play the entirety of both games.

Box Scorehttps://fiba3x3.com/2024/olympics/games/cf78ea0d-5181-4c04-90c9-75104bbbe7d7/box-score
Olympic Pool Standingshttps://fiba3x3.com/2024/olympics/standings/men/pools

Next up for the U.S.
August 2 at 12:35 p.m. ET vs France
August 2 at 4:35 p.m. ET vs China

Look for other Gators in Friday Olympic action in basketball, men’s golf and swimming.https://gatorsolympics.com/

Gators at The Games
Daily Schedule of Action for August 1, 2024
Gator

Sport

Country

Event

Result

Caeleb Dresselhttps://floridagators.com/sports/olympics/roster/caeleb-dressel/17018

Swimming

USA

Heat: Men’s 50m Freestyle