But the women's event is shaping up to be a completely different story.
Hali Flickinger and Regan Smith cruised to the top two spots in their semifinal heat Wednesday, each besting the rest of the field by roughly 2 seconds. Flickinger clocked the second-fastest time in the semifinals at 2:06.23, behind China's Yufei Zhang, who won the other semifinal heat in 2:04.89.
Flickinger and Smith will return to the pool for Thursday's final with hopes of adding to the individual medals they've already won in Tokyo. Flickinger won bronze in the 400-meter individual medley Sunday, while Smith followed with a bronze of her own in the 100-meter backstroke Tuesday.
TOKYO – On the first day of finals at the Olympic regatta, the American crews failed to place on the podium.
The U.S. women’s double sculls duo of Gevvie Stone and Kristi Wagner took fifth in the Olympic regatta at Sea Forest Waterway. Stone, 36, and Wagner, 28, crossed the finish with a time of 6:52.98, 11.95 seconds behind the winner Romania. A U.S. boat has never won a medal in the women’s event at the Olympics.
A three-time Olympian, Stone won the silver medal in the women’s single at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Newton, Massachusetts, native also raced the single at the 2012 London Olympics, placing first in the B final and seventh overall. Her father, Gregg Stone, coaches the women’s double. Wagner is competing on her first Olympic and senior national team.
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