Ohio State sophomore Hunter Armstrong practices swimming fundamentals a day before leaving for Hawaii. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State has its first gold medalist of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sophomore swimmer Hunter Armstrong earned his first-career gold medal Saturday after helping Team USA get to the final with a solid showing in the heats of the 4×100 men’s medley relay.
The Dover, Ohio, native served as the leadoff swimmer for Team USA in Heat 1, helping them to a fourth-place finish and the last spot in the final with a time of 3:32.49 — just 0.08 seconds ahead of Canada.
In the final, Team USA switched out all four swimmers it had in the pool for the heats — which worked out to its advantage. Team USA took home the gold with a world-record time of 3:26.78 — just beating out Great Britain, who swam a European-record 3:27.51.
Despite not making an appearance in the final, Armstrong was still awarded with the gold thanks to his contributions in the heats.
