On Sunday afternoon, Tori Huske won gold in the women’s 100m butterfly. It was Huske’s second gold of the Paris Olympics after finishing first with three of her American teammates in the women’s 4x100m relay on Saturday. It was also a bit sad.
Huske trailed for most of the race, but closed the gap on her Team USA teammate Gretchen Walsh in the final seconds. Not only was Walsh decorated on her own, she was one day removed from setting the Olympic record in the 100m butterfly semi-final, clocking 55.38 to break Sweden’s Sara Sjöström’s 2016 record. It seemed inevitable that she would continue her streak with gold.
But Huskey has something to say about that. He beat Walsh for gold by 0.04 seconds and gave an emotional quote that could sum up the feelings of most athletes after winning at the Olympics.
“I feel like I’m in shock right now,” Huske said After the race. “I don’t even know how to process it. I think I’m going to cry, but I’m also laughing.”
This is one way to earn your first individual gold medal.
Huske competed in the Tokyo Games, but missed out on a medal by 0.01 seconds. Now his first gold is an upset over the Olympic record holder, who is also his teammate.
And then, to top it all off, Huskey invited Walsh to his stage before the US national anthem was played.
Tory Huske invites silver medalist Gretchen Walsh to the gold medal podium before the national anthem. You want to see it pic.twitter.com/jo9EPGQYlk
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) July 28, 2024
The game can be beautiful. What a moment for the Huskies.
