On the first day of Olympic competition Saturday, three of the eleven athletes with UW ties got things heated up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In men’s swimming, current senior Matt Hutchins, who represents New Zealand, finished 19th overall in the 400-meter freestyle. Hutchins posted a time of 3:48.25, a new personal best for the first-time Olympian, and improved ten spots from his seed time.
Hutchins will compete again on Friday, August 12 in the 1500-meter freestyle. He is the first male swimmer from UW to compete in the Olympics since Adam Mania represented Poland in 2004.
In women’s rugby sevens, 2015 graduate and former Badger hockey and soccer standout Alev Kelter led the United States to a 1-1 record in their first two matches. Kelter scored two tries in the United States’ 48-0 victory over Colombia, her first coming in the first minute of the game. She also put the only points on the board for the stars and stripes in their 12-7 loss to Fiji. Kelter’s try against Fiji marked the first Olympic points ever for the USA, because women’s rugby is a new Olympic sport this year.
The United States sits in second place in Group A with four points, and will face Australia on Sunday morning in the final game of group play.
In women’s rowing action, Grace Latz and the United States quadruple sculls finished third in their preliminary race, and advanced to the repechages on Monday where they and Poland, the second place finisher, will get a second chance to qualify for the gold medal race.
