Publically emerging, athletes, such as Torri Huske, can take advantage of the added attention to their sport every four years. Make no mistake, the Stanford Cardinal athlete continues to build on her already great Olympic resume. While others may not fare as well under pressure. However, she’s not only embracing it, but continuing to exceed expectations. In a field that had plenty of more veteran competitors, the fact that she was able to not only metal but nearly come out on top only speaks to how dynamic her performance was in this 100-meter freestyle event at this year’s Summer Games.
Early 100m freestyle lead
Halfway through the race, Huske touched the wall first and was positioning herself to take home the ultimate top prize. And while Sarah Sjostrom from Sweden was able to make up for it in the second half of the race, the American was firmly in control of a podium position throughout. In this Olympics, the margins are so close, particularly in any event that takes place in the pool. When slowed down, fractions of a second really do make a difference and can appear as an eternity. But in reality, in the moment that it takes to blink, it’s conceivable that by the time someone’s eyes open up again, the difference between first and last will already have come and gone.
An aspect that was nice about the NBC coverage was how they displayed the rate at which Haske propelled herself through the water. This goes without saying when looking at the final standings, but toward the end, you could visibly see that her engine was only just running out of gas. This allowed the Swedish athlete to overtake her.
Except further in a hypothetical scenario, if the race had been extended by another even 10 meters, it’s likely that the strong first half would have allowed others to surpass her as well. But that just goes to show how great of a start she had and the endurance levels were just high enough to be able to withstand most of the other top-tier competitors in the pool on the day.
Successful 2024 for Torri Huske
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Either way, regardless of how you slice it, the Virginia native is having a fantastic showing so far. Having formally won the 100-meter butterfly event, this was the third overall medal in Paris and the second silver. The first event was the 4×100 m freestyle relay, in which Team USA edged out China for second place in that event. It’s also noteworthy that in the latest individual race, the Stanford athlete earned the nod with the next-best finish on the female side in American history with her recorded time.
Comparisons and excited fans getting ahead of themselves are likely to happen at this point, and that’s understandable. The multimedalist is on a good career trajectory. But imposing visions or comparisons on others at this point would be premature and irresponsible. Certain Olympians see instant success, while for others, it’s a great accomplishment just to be able to compete on this global stage. But when you consider how 2020 went for her, it’s safe to say that this is a stock that continues to rise.
Olympic bounceback
In Tokyo, Haske just barely missed out on receiving a medal for the individual butterfly event. The aforementioned slimmest of margins was something she was on the wrong side of but only just barely. This is something that isn’t easy to overcome. Many would understandably feel discouraged and try as they might; it could be difficult for some to push through and fight back. However, what some believe is a potential setback, others seize as a potential alternative opportunity.
As viewers now know, the hardware ceremony looked a little different in this specific event. While understandably happy and celebrating her victories, it’s safe to say that the competitive itch will drive her until she gives everything that she has to come as close to pulling off as clean sweep as possible. It’s entirely possible that come the 2028 games in Los Angeles, Torri Huske will be able to pull off an analogous story and finish with the gold in the next 100m freestyle.
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